Heavy Snow — Pike, Kentucky

2025-01-10 to 2025-01-11 · Pike, Kentucky

Event narrative

Snow began falling in Pike County on the afternoon of January 10th and continued in some areas until after midnight. Late on the evening of the 10th, at 2347 EST, the county emergency manager reported a measurement of 5.0 inches of snow at Forest Hills, indicating significant accumulations had already occurred. On the morning of January 11th, a wide range of storm total reports were received. The Department of Highways reported variable amounts, including approximately 3.0 inches at Shelbiana, 4.0 inches at Canada, and 5.0 inches 3 miles west of Coleman. Other storm totals included a measured 4.5 inches from the CO-OP Observer at Fedscreek, a public report of about 4.0 inches 3 miles west of Mouthcard, and another measured 5.0 inches from a social media report in the Lower Buckleys Creek area.

Wider weather episode

A complex winter storm impacted eastern Kentucky on January 10th and 11th, 2025. The event featured the interaction of a northern stream weather system with a plume of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Snow began to spread across the region on the morning of the 10th, becoming widespread and significant by the afternoon. The peak of the event occurred during the evening of the 10th, with bands of heavy snow producing snowfall rates of up to one inch per hour at times, particularly across southern and southeastern counties. By the morning of the 11th, the steady snow had tapered off from west to east, ending as flurries. The storm produced a widespread snowfall of 3 to 5 inches, with the highest totals of up to 7 inches amplified by orographic lift in the highest terrain of the southeastern mountains.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1283132. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.