Heavy Snow — Elliott, Kentucky

2018-01-16 · Elliott, Kentucky

Wider weather episode

A slow moving weather system brought accumulating snowfall to eastern Kentucky on January 16, 2018. Snow first began falling along and north of Mountain Parkway during the overnight hours of January 15th into the 16th. A couple of particularly heavy bands of snow set up across portions of eastern Kentucky during the morning and early afternoon hours of the 16th, prompting the issuance of a set of winter storm warnings for several counties. Snowfall amounts varied from as little as 1 inch in Fleming County, to as much as 6 inches in portions of Estill and Morgan Counties, with generally between 2 and 5 inches falling throughout much of eastern Kentucky. Due to extremely cold road surface temperatures, the snow quickly accumulated on area roadways, leading to hazardous travel conditions and numerous vehicular accidents. This included one on Interstate 75 near London, causing multiple lanes to be shut down for a couple of hours.

Snowfall totals across eastern Kentucky were as follows:

Estill County

6.0in (4 SW Irvine)

Morgan County

6.0in (Ezel)

Wolfe County

5.4in (Toliver)

Lee County

5.2in (2 WSW Beattyville)

Owsley County

5.1in (Island City)

Powell County

5.1in (Bowen)

Jackson County

5.0in (1 WSW Clover Bottom)

Laurel County

5.0in (Keavy)

Magoffin County

5.0in (3 SE Royalton)

Menifee County

5.0in (Frenchburg)

Rockcastle County

5.0in (Brodhead)

Martin County

4.9in (2 E Inez)

Breathitt County

4.6in (2 NNW Jackson)

Elliott County

4.5in (9 N Sandy Hook)

Pulaski County

4.5in (Somerset)

Rowan County

4.5in (Morehead)

Johnson County

4.3in (Elna)

Bath County

4.0in (2 S Farmers)

McCreary County

4.0in (Whitley City)

Clay County

3.6in (Oneida)

Floyd County

3.3in (3 WSW Prestonsburg)

Pike County

3.3in (Whitepost)

Montgomery County

3.0in (4 NE Mount Sterling)

Perry County

3.0in (Hazard)

Letcher County

3.0in (Jenkins & SE Whitesburg)

Knox County

3.0in (12 S Manchester)

Wayne County

3.0in (Monticello)

Whitley County

3.0in (Williamsburg & Woodbine)

Knott County

2.8in (Carrie)

Leslie County

2.5in (Thousandsticks)

Harlan County

2.0in (Harlan)

Bell County

1.5in (Beverly)

Fleming County

1.0in (4 NNE Flemingsburg).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 727568. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.