Heavy Snow — Letcher, Kentucky

2022-03-12 · Letcher, Kentucky

Event narrative

Between 7:00am and 9:00am EST, totals ranging from 6.0 to 10.0 inches were reported across central and southeast Letcher County by the public and COOP observers. The 10-inch report was measured 2 miles SSE of Whitesburg. An additional public report of 7.8 inches of storm total snowfall in the community of Thorton was received around 12:30 PM EST.

Wider weather episode

A pair of cold fronts sweeping through the area overnight brought rain initially to eastern Kentucky, before heavy snow eventually blanketed the region. This rain moved in from the northwest in the evening of March 11, but then transitioned to snow during the evening and into the nighttime hours. The snow initially fell on warm ground, leading to accumulations mainly on elevated and grassy surfaces. However, snowfall rates increased overnight to an inch or greater per hour, and led to quicker accumulations that overcame the warmer ground temperatures. Many areas throughout eastern Kentucky reported snowfall totals between 6 and 8 inches, with a few isolated reports of between 8 and 10 inches.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1013927. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.