Heavy Snow — Perry, Kentucky

2024-01-14 to 2024-01-16 · Perry, Kentucky

Event narrative

Multiple storm total reports were made in Perry County on January 16, ranging from 6.3 to 8.5 inches. These reports include 6.3 inches storm total 2 miles NW of Daisy at 10am, 6.8 inches at Hazard Water Works at 7am (up from only 1.3 inches measured the morning before), and 8.5 inches 1 mile SSW of Ary at 9:20am.

Meanwhile, the day before (January 15), there were several reports that already exceeded the warning threshold, including a public report of 4.3 inches from 2 miles SE of Ned at 11:50am, an amateur radio report of 4.5 inches of snow in Hazard around 4:30pm, and another of 7.0 inches 2 miles ENE of Lamont around 5:39pm.

Wider weather episode

Arctic air and a winter storm kicked off the 3rd week of January 2024. Arctic air seeped into eastern Kentucky on Sunday, January 14th, following the passage of a shallow arctic cold front. That front eventually stalled along the spine of the Appalachians by late in the day. Temperatures fell into the 10s and 20s behind the front -- more than cold enough for snow. The first of multiple disturbances, passing through a deep upper level trough over the much of the Lower 48 east of the Rockies, induced moist and relatively warm air to overrun the cold arctic air mass by Sunday evening, causing snow to develop across eastern Kentucky during the evening of the 14th. Light to moderate snowfall continued into Monday morning with the heaviest amounts, exceeding 4 inches at some locations, falling between the Hal Roger Parkway/KY-80 corridor and the Mountain Parkway. Temperatures remained cold, only ranging in the teens to middle 20s. After periods of lighter snow for most of the day on Monday, the 15th, another disturbance caused steadier snow to develop from the southwest on Monday evening. The snow eventually tapered from the west on Tuesday morning, the 16th. The heavier snowfall with this second round was generally focused south of the Mountain Parkway with some locations again picking up in excess of 4 inches. Many locations saw snowfall tallies approaching a half foot or more. The highest snowfall report was 9.3 inches about 4 miles northeast of Booneville.

As the storm moved away on Tuesday, the arctic air remained entrenched over eastern Kentucky as strong high pressure built northeastward from the from the Tennessee Valley. Temperatures remained largely in the 10s to lower 20s through Tuesday afternoon once the snowfall ended. With minimal cloud cover and light wind, temperatures dropped quickly after sunset Tuesday evening, especially in valleys with deep snow cover. By early Wednesday morning, the 17th, many locations were below zero, including below -10F in many of the sheltered valleys. The Monticello Airport took first place as the coldest location in eastern Kentucky, bottoming out at frigid -22F. In fact, Monticello not only registered the coldest temperature for the Commonwealth, but also the entire Continental United States for that night.

Unfortunately a handful of deaths were reported across the state during this time, including one lady in Floyd County on January 14.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1157569. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.