Winter Storm — Rowan, Kentucky

2026-01-24 to 2026-01-25 · Rowan, Kentucky

Event narrative

This county experienced a heavy mix of wintry precipitation. Morehead received 3.2 inches of snow and 0.50 inches of sleet by 0745EST on the 25th. At Hilda, 0.8 inches of sleet was measured at 930EST. In the southeastern corner of the county, 0.32 inches of freezing rain accretion was measured in Elliottville at 1756EST.

Wider weather episode

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.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1314400. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.