Winter Weather — Union, Kentucky

2011-01-20 · Union, Kentucky

Wider weather episode

An upper level disturbance moved east across the Plains to the Mississippi Valley. The associated surface low pressure system gradually took shape over eastern Kentucky. Widespread snowfall from 2 to 4 inches blanketed most of western Kentucky. Amounts were locally higher in the Owensboro area, which received 4 to 5 inches. Locally lower amounts around one inch occurred along the Tennessee border from Fulton to just south of Hopkinsville. Another area of lower amounts from one to two inches was observed northwest of Madisonville, in Webster and Union Counties. Specific snowfall amounts included 4.5 inches in Owensboro, 3 inches in Hopkinsville, 2.6 inches in Henderson, and 2 inches in Murray, Paducah, and Calvert City. Roads were snow-covered and icy. Numerous accidents occurred, including a pickup truck that overturned on the Pennyrile Parkway near Madisonville. Slick roads were a contributing factor in a fatal two-vehicle wreck on Kentucky 130 near Uniontown (Union County). A northbound motorist lost control of his vehicle and crossed the center line into the path of a truck. The northbound motorist was killed (indirect fatality), and the other driver received minor injuries. On the morning after the snow ended, lingering patches of snow and ice caused an accident on the Purchase Parkway near Fulton. One person was injured when his pickup truck slid off the road and overturned. Four other wrecks occurred in the northbound lanes of the Purchase Parkway near the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. One of them involved a tractor-trailer rig that jack-knifed. Three cars ran off the road shortly thereafter. Police shut down the northbound lanes for a few hours.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 270714. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.