Heavy Snow — Harlan, Kentucky

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

Event narrative

Snow began in Harlan County on the morning of January 5th, before changing over to freezing rain and rain later in the day. Storm total snowfall measurements taken by CO-OP Observers on the morning of January 6th highlighted the significant impact of elevation on accumulations. At 0751EST, the observer on Pine Mountain (Harlan 3N) reported 4.0 inches of snow. In contrast, the observer at Harlan 1S, located in the valley, reported a lower total of 1.5 inches of snow at 0800EST.

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 1282969. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.