Heavy Snow — Harlan, Kentucky

2025-01-19 to 2025-01-20 · Harlan, Kentucky

Event narrative

Snow fell across Harlan County on January 19th and 20th, with final totals showing a dramatic and clear divide between the lower valleys and the high mountain terrain. Final storm totals from the valley locations were consistently light, with reports coming in on the morning of January 20th. The CO-OP observer 1 miles south of Harlan (HEGK2) measured a total of 2.0 inches at 600EST. An hour later, at 700EST, the Department of Highways reported an estimated 1.5 inches in the city of Harlan. In sharp contrast, snowfall was significantly heavier in the mountains. During the pre-dawn hours of January 20th, at 400EST, the Department of Highways reported an estimated 5.5 inches in the Bledsoe community. At 700EST, they also reported an estimated 4.5 inches on Black Mountain. The highest total for the event was a measured 6.5 inches, reported at 1638EST on the 20th by the CO-OP observer on Pine Mountain (HROK2).

Wider weather episode

A storm system moving up the coast on January 19th, 2025 transitioned rain to a widespread snow. A period of steady snow in the morning transitioned into more intense, scattered snow bands and squalls during the afternoon and evening before tapering off overnight. The storm produced a distinct northwest-to-southeast snowfall gradient, with accumulations ranging from 1 to 3 inches in the northwest to over 4 to 7 inches in the far southeastern counties, where persistent banding was enhanced by the terrain.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1283251. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.