Heavy Snow — Bath, Kentucky

1998-02-03 to 1998-02-06 · Bath, Kentucky

Wider weather episode

A major snowstorm affected eastern Kentucky from the evening of February 3 into the morning of February 6. Snowfall totals for the storm ranged from around 4 inches in valley locations near the Virginia border to as much as 2 feet in areas from Whitley City to Flemingsburg. The greatest snowfalls during the storm occurred in two distinct periods. The first round of heavy snow, which affected nearly all of eastern Kentucky, began during the evening of February 3, and extended into February 4. Heavy snow tapered off during the night of February 4-5, but redeveloped again during the afternoon of February 5 and extended into the early morning of February 6. This second round of heavy snow mainly affected the northern half of eastern Kentucky.The first round of heavy snow resulted in a general 10 to 18 inches in areas along and west of a line from Williamsburg to Morehead, with amounts decreasing to around 4 inches in valley locations near the Virginia border. The second round of heavy snow brought 4 inches or more to areas generally along and north of a line from Irvine to Phelps. The second round of heavy snow resulted in as much as 10 inches in areas from Frenchburg to near Flemingsburg. The first round of heavy snow was extremely wet, with snow to water ratios around 6 to 1. The snow to water ratio was about 10 to 1 during the second round of heavy snow.In most areas the greatest snow depths occurred on February 6. Some snow depths reported on February 6: Wallingford 25 inches; Frenchburg 24 inches; Stearns 23 inches; Mt. Sterling 22 inches; Owingsville 20 inches; London 19 inches; Campton 16 inches; Flemingsburg, Stanton, and Mt Vernon -15 inches; Morehead, Monticello, Sandy Hook, and McKee - 14 inches; Somerset 12 inches; Irvine, West Liberty, and NWSO Jackson -11 inches; Williamsburg, Manchester, Salyersville, and Booneville - 10 inches; Beattyville and Inez - 8 inches; Paintsville 7 inches; Prestonsburg 6 inches; Raccoon and Majestic - 5 inches; Hindman, Barbourville, Hyden and Skyline- 4 inches. At NWSO Jackson 17.6 inches of snow fell from February 3 to February 6, with the maximum depth of 11 inches occurring on February 6. The greatest 24 hour amount recorded at NWSO Jackson during the storm was 9.7 inches from February 3 to February 4.Because of the extremely wet nature of the snow, damage from this storm was extensive. The most widespread damage occurred in a swath of the Daniel Boone National Forest from Whitley City to Frenchburg. Power outages were widespread as falling trees brought down power lines and poles. Power outages affected 100% of the electric customers in many counties. As many as 9000 customers were still without power on February 9, and some areas were without power for 2 weeks. Numerous roads were blocked by trees, and bulldozers had to be used to reach people who were stranded. There were numerous buildings which collapsed under the weight of the snow, including trailer homes, houses, barns, and commercial buildings. One industrial building near Monticello sustained $1.5 million in damage when the roof collapsed, and machinery and stock were damaged.Many people remained in unheated homes during the extended power outages. A woman in McCreary County died in her home as a result of a hypothermia induced heart attack, and a man in Wolfe County died from hypothermia in his home. One man in McCreary County was injured when a carport collapsed on him.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5635316. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.