Winter Storm — Morgan, Kentucky

2025-01-05 to 2025-01-06 · Morgan, Kentucky

Event narrative

Heavy snow was followed by a significant ice storm in Morgan County on January 5th and 6th. On the afternoon of January 5th, social media reports indicated widespread heavy snow. At 1600EST, a report from Crockett showed around 5 inches of snow. Shortly after, at 1619EST, another report showed approximately 5 inches of snow accumulation in West Liberty. The precipitation began to transition to a wintry mix during the evening of the 5th. By the evening on January 6th, a single NWS employee conducted a survey and measured significant flat ice accretion along the US-460 corridor. At 1810EST, 0.60 inches of ice was measured at the high point between KY-205 and KY-705. A subsequent measurement at 1823EST found 0.52 inches of ice at the intersection with Murphy Fork Road. The survey in Morgan County concluded at 1837EST in Ezel with a peak measurement of 0.71 inches of flat ice accretion at the intersection of Meetinghouse Branch and US-460. The combined weight of heavy snow and significant ice accretion brought down many trees and power lines throughout the county.

Wider weather episode

The first significant winter storm of 2025 brought a mix of heavy snow and significant icing to eastern Kentucky on January 5th and 6th. A deep surface low tracked across southern Kentucky, spreading precipitation across the region. Snow began across the western counties of the forecast area as early as 0900 EST on January 5th, with snowfall rates up to one inch per hour quickly covering roadways. By 1000 EST, warmer air aloft began to change the snow over to freezing rain in southern counties, with this transition spreading north and east through the day. Through the evening and overnight hours of January 5th into the 6th, a prolonged period of freezing rain occurred, with the heaviest icing focused along the US-460 corridor. The highest icing amounts were observed across Menifee and Morgan counties where 0.50 to 0.75 inches of flat ice accretion were reported. Accumulating snow was observed across all of eastern Kentucky, with the highest amounts generally northeast of US-421, where 3 to 7 inches were common. The combination of snow and significant ice led to widespread impacts. Thousands of customers lost power, particularly in a narrow corridor through Menifee, Morgan, and Johnson counties, with some outages lasting nearly a week. Numerous trees were also damaged or downed by the weight of the ice.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1278355. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.