Ice Storm — Hardin, Kentucky

2021-02-10 to 2021-02-11 · Hardin, Kentucky

Event narrative

Around a half inch of ice accumulated in Elizabethtown, Vine Grove, and Radcliff. Extensive tree damage occurred. Power outages were also reported. There was a fatal accident on Interstate 65 northbound at mile marker 91 in Elizabethtown.

Wider weather episode

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.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 942568. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.