Freezing Fog — Lyon, Kentucky

2011-02-10 · Lyon, Kentucky

Wider weather episode

A large area of snow occurred along and to the east of a well-defined surface low pressure trough. East of the surface trough, northeasterly surface winds kept cold air in place. Warmer air moving in aloft created conditions favorable for heavy snow. The heaviest snow occurred just ahead of a disturbance in the mid levels of the atmosphere. Snowfall rates in a narrow band near the Tennessee border were 1 to 2 inches per hour. As the low pressure trough moved east across the region, the snow ended in its wake. The heaviest snowfall totals occurred along and south of a line from Bardwell (Carlisle County) through Benton to Hopkinsville, where 4 to 5 inches was common. North of that line, amounts were generally from 1 to 3 inches. Specific snowfall totals included: 5 inches in Pembroke (Christian County) and Murray, 4 inches in Hopkinsville, Cadiz (Trigg County), Elkton (Todd County), Fulton (Fulton County), Bardwell, and near Draffenville (Marshall County), 3.5 inches in Hardin (Marshall County), 2.5 inches in Calvert City (Marshall County) and Paducah, 2 inches in Madisonville, 1.5 inches in Eddyville (Lyon County), and about one inch in Owensboro and Henderson. Due to very cold temperatures, roads quickly became snow-packed and very slippery. Numerous accidents were reported. A multi-vehicle crash blocked all lanes of the Purchase Parkway in Marshall County. Five vehicles were involved in an accident in Oak Grove in Christian County. Visibility was reduced to one-quarter mile or less in the heavy snow areas. Many schools were closed or dismissed early. Following the snow, a combination of residual moisture and dense freezing fog caused a fatal wreck on the Interstate 24 bridge westbound over the Cumberland River. The early morning accident started when the driver of a van lost control on the bridge and struck the concrete wall. As a tractor-trailer rig approached the crash site, the van driver jumped off the bridge to avoid being struck. The van driver died. The drivers of five tractor-trailer rigs that subsequently crashed on the bridge were uninjured. The interstate was closed for several hours between mile markers 31 and 40 due to the wreckage. The freezing fog was caused by temperatures around zero over the relatively warm river water below.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 282379. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.