Ice Storm in Clark, Kentucky

Ice accumulation of 0.6 inches was reported in Winchester, KY on the morning of February 11, 2021. There was also a light dusting of snow and sleet on top of the ice. Later in the day, local media reported a tree down on a home. There were numerous trees down or damaged, with thousands without power across the county.

An arctic airmass was centered over the northern Plains, and Kentucky and southern Indiana were positioned directly along a volatile boundary between the arctic air mass and a warm and moist tropical airmass associated with the Gulf of Mexico. The vertical temperature profile was ideal for the formation of freezing rain. The arctic air wedged itself beneath a warm and moist layer aloft. As energy associated with the jet stream passed over the Ohio Valley, a mix of wintry precipitation occurred. A large swath of freezing rain occurred, stretching mainly west to east across Kentucky.