Winter Storm in Breathitt, Kentucky

A complex mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain impacted Breathitt County. An initial 1.2 inches of snow was reported at WFO Jackson by midnight of January 25th. A half inch of sleet then feel between midnight and 220EST. Freezing rain then fell for much of the day on the 25th, leaving a flat ice accretion total of 0.45 inches measured at 1909EST. Additional light snow occurred on the back of the system. The combined weight downed a large tree across KY Highway 205 near Paxton at 1100EST on the 25th.

A major winter storm impacted eastern Kentucky from January 24 through January 25, 2026, delivering a combination of heavy snow, sleet, and significant ice accretion. The event began with heavy snow on the afternoon of the 24th, but a potent warm nose of air aloft moved over the region overnight, transitioning precipitation into a prolonged period of freezing rain and sleet for much of the area.

The most severe icing impacts occurred in the Cumberland Basin and south-central Kentucky, where significant ice accumulations up to 0.78 inches were measured. This ice loading led to significant power outages: South Kentucky RECC reported outages peaking at over 28,000 members, while Jackson Energy peaked at 12,156 members. In many areas, the weight of the ice snapped large trees and downed power lines. Restoration efforts continued through January 31 due to the scale of the damage and hazardous terrain. As the system exited on January 26, an Arctic airmass surged into the region, causing the sloppy snow, sleet, ice to freeze into a glacier-like pack that persisted into February. This led an extended period of icy roadways. With a total liquid of 1.5 to 4.0 inches, some flooding also occurred in far southeastern Kentucky where more of the precipitation fell as rain.