Cold/Wind Chill — Madison, Kentucky

2015-02-16 · Madison, Kentucky

Event narrative

An 86-year old male was found dead in his home. The autopsy revealed he died of hypothermia.

Wider weather episode

An arctic outbreak brought frigid air to central Kentucky, which not only resulted in one of the heaviest snowfalls in a decade for the state, but led to several hypothermia fatalities as well. Several record low temperatures lccurred early on the 20th when clear skies, calm winds and a fresh snowpack in excess of 6 inches led to early morning lows near 20 degrees below zero, as measured by some Kentucky Mesonet locations. The ASOS site at Lexington Airport reached -18 degrees. A temperature of -6 degrees was measured at Standiford Airport in Louisville, which is located within an urban heat island. Ten hypothermia deaths were recorded in Kentucky during the period, with 7 in central KY.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 564656. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.