Overview
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Heavy snow developed across eastern Kentucky on Thursday, January 6th as a potent low pressure system developed over the Deep South in the morning, rode up the spine of the southern Appalachians during the afternoon, and off to the northeast Thursday night - a climatologically favored track for heavy snow accumulations across eastern Kentucky. The first flakes reached the I-75 corridor by mid morning and spread eastward across the remainder of the area by early afternoon. Snowfall rates of 1" per hour or more were observed during a majority of the event. The nearly perfect combination of cold temperatures at the surface and aloft led to dry, fluffy snow-to-liquid ratios mostly between 12-15:1 and storm total accumulations on the order of 4 to 9 inches by the time snow tapered off late Thursday evening. The dry nature of the snow prevented any significant issues with downed trees and power lines. However, the warm roads, due to mild weather in recent weeks, partially melted the snow as it fell, leading to a slippery, slushy mess on area roadways. The most notable incident was a 50 to 75 vehicle pileup on I-64 near the Montgomery/Clark County line. Martin County also closed all county highways during the event. The hazardous travel contributed to many single vehicle incidents across eastern Kentucky. |
 Mount Sterling Multiple Vehicle Pileup (Courtesy of Justin Logan) |
Photos & Video
Event Photos
Radar
Storm Radar Loop
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| Radar Loop - 8 AM to 11 PM January 6th, 2022 |
Storm Reports
(Graphic Courtesy Danny Gant NWS Morristown) Storm Total Snowfall Reports (Sorted By County) Location Amount Time/Date Lat/Lon Bath County Cave Run Lake 7.1 in 0700 AM 01/07 38.12N/83.53W 1 NNW Owingsville 5.2 in 0800 AM 01/07 38.14N/83.76W Bell County 2 ESE Meldrum 5.5 in 0700 AM 01/07 36.66N/83.66W Beverly 5.0 in 0827 PM 01/06 36.93N/83.53W 1 NNW Ferndale 4.8 in 0700 AM 01/07 36.71N/83.69W Stony Fork 4.0 in 0530 PM 01/06 36.83N/83.54W Breathitt County Stevenson 8.0 in 1035 PM 01/06 37.58N/83.27W NWS Office/Julian Carroll Ap 7.7 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.59N/83.32W 1 S Paxton 7.6 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.66N/83.41W 1 S Fivemile 7.5 in 0900 PM 01/06 37.57N/83.41W Dumont 7.0 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.53N/83.36W Inverness 6.0 in 0640 PM 01/06 37.53N/83.36W Elliott County 9 SSE Olive Hill 6.5 in 0900 AM 01/07 38.19N/83.08W Sandy Hook 6.0 in 0533 PM 01/06 38.10N/83.12W Estill County 1 NNE Spout Springs 8.5 in 0520 PM 01/06 37.83N/83.97W Cressy 8.2 in 0800 AM 01/07 37.83N/84.03W Irvine 7.3 in 0745 PM 01/06 37.70N/83.97W 1 NW Kimbrell 7.0 in 0647 PM 01/06 37.81N/84.00W Fleming County 3 W Wallingford 4.0 in 0637 PM 01/06 38.41N/83.66W Flemingsburg 3.5 in 0400 PM 01/06 38.43N/83.74W Floyd County Emma 8.0 in 0940 PM 01/06 37.63N/82.70W 3 WSW Prestonsburg 7.6 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.66N/82.83W 1 W Dotson 7.5 in 0745 PM 01/06 37.65N/82.88W Prestonsburg 7.0 in 0700 PM 01/06 37.67N/82.77W Harold 6.0 in 0745 PM 01/06 37.54N/82.63W Harlan County 1 E Big Black Mountain 8.0 in 0800 AM 01/07 36.91N/82.87W 1 ESE Clover 8.0 in 0903 AM 01/07 36.93N/82.96W 1 ESE Bledsoe 7.0 in 0730 AM 01/07 36.92N/83.35W Baxter 6.0 in 0700 AM 01/07 36.86N/83.33W 1 SSW Cumberland 5.0 in 0610 PM 01/06 36.98N/82.99W 1S Harlan 4.5 in 0600 AM 01/07 36.83N/83.33W Jackson County 2 NNW Loam 7.0 in 0800 AM 01/07 37.43N/84.14W Morrill 7.0 in 1030 PM 01/06 37.52N/84.20W Sandgap 6.0 in 0620 PM 01/06 37.49N/84.09W Johnson County Paintsville 8.0 in 0815 PM 01/06 37.82N/82.81W 3 N Barnetts Creek 8.0 in 0818 PM 01/06 37.87N/82.88W Paintsville 7.8 in 0645 PM 01/06 37.82N/82.81W 1 SW Hagerhill 7.8 in 0720 PM 01/06 37.78N/82.80W 1 E Paintsville 7.0 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.82N/82.78W 1 SW Staffordsville 7.0 in 0708 PM 01/06 37.82N/82.85W Knott County 1 ENE Ivan 7.0 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.29N/82.81W 1 SE Hindman 6.0 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.32N/82.96W Knox County Bimble 6.5 in 0605 PM 01/06 36.88N/83.82W Laurel County North Corbin 8.0 in 0845 PM 01/06 36.97N/84.10W 1 NE London 7.3 in 0330 AM 01/07 37.14N/84.07W London 6.8 in 0920 PM 01/06 37.13N/84.08W East Bernstadt 6.6 in 0652 PM 01/06 37.19N/84.12W Lee County 4 N Beattyville 7.2 in 0900 AM 01/07 37.63N/83.72W Beattyville 6.0 in 0622 PM 01/06 37.58N/83.71W Leslie County Thousandsticks 8.0 in 0830 PM 01/06 37.19N/83.43W 1 ESE Kaliopi 5.5 in 0622 PM 01/06 37.23N/83.40W Letcher County 2 SE Whitesburg 5.0 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.10N/82.80W Skyline 4.8 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.07N/82.97W 1 NNW Farraday 4.5 in 0722 PM 01/06 37.18N/82.78W Magoffin County Mid 8.5 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.52N/82.90W Royalton 8.0 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.68n/83.02w Gifford 7.8 in 0600 AM 01/07 37.77N/83.13W 1 SE Swampton 6.0 in 1140 PM 01/06 37.65N/83.00W Martin County 2 E Inez 8.4 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.87N/82.52W Debord 8.3 in 0827 PM 01/06 37.83N/82.55W McCreary County Whitley City 5.5 in 0505 PM 01/06 36.73N/84.47W Menifee County Frenchburg 7.5 in 1020 PM 01/06 37.95N/83.63W Montgomery County 1 S Oggs Station 7.6 in 0750 PM 01/06 38.01N/83.82W 1 SW Oggs Station 7.2 in 0630 AM 01/07 38.01N/83.84W Morgan County 1 WSW Index 9.0 in 1200 AM 01/07 37.89N/83.27W Owsley County 4 ENE Booneville 7.2 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.50N/83.62W Island City 7.0 in 1100 AM 01/07 37.37N/83.77W Perry County 3 SSW Dice 8.0 in 0734 AM 01/07 37.33N/83.25W 1 N Viper 6.0 in 0554 AM 01/07 37.19N/83.15W Viper 6.0 in 0603 AM 01/07 37.18N/83.15W Hazard 5.5 in 1025 PM 01/06 37.25N/83.20W Pike County Whitepost 7.5 in 0830 PM 01/06 37.73N/82.35W 1 S Zebulon 6.9 in 0610 AM 01/07 37.50N/82.47W 3 NE Belcher 6.0 in 0600 AM 01/07 37.37N/82.34W Pikeville 6.0 in 0600 PM 01/06 37.48N/82.51W 3 W Mouthcard 5.5 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.39N/82.31W Powell County 2 W Stanton 8.6 in 0800 AM 01/07 37.86N/83.90W 2 ESE Clay City 8.0 in 1230 AM 01/07 37.85N/83.90W 1 WSW Stanton 7.3 in 0500 PM 01/06 37.84N/83.88W 1 SSE Stanton 7.0 in 0545 PM 01/06 37.83N/83.85W 1 WNW Clay City 6.0 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.87N/83.93W Pulaski County 2 SE Quinton 7.0 in 0709 PM 01/06 36.93N/84.60W 1 WNW Somerset 6.5 in 0825 PM 01/06 37.06N/84.63W 1 NNE Somerset 5.5 in 0915 AM 01/07 37.09N/84.60W 5 W Bee Lick 5.0 in 0545 PM 01/06 37.33N/84.59W Somerset 5.0 in 0615 PM 01/06 37.08N/84.61W Rockcastle County Spiro 6.7 in 0624 PM 01/06 37.35N/84.40W 1 W Burr 6.5 in 0700 AM 01/07 37.34N/84.32W Rowan County Hilda 8.0 in 0915 PM 01/06 38.24N/83.50W 1 S Morehead 6.0 in 0645 PM 01/06 38.18N/83.44W 7 NE Morehead 5.5 in 0655 AM 01/07 38.24N/83.34W Morehead 5.3 in 0545 PM 01/06 38.19N/83.44W Wayne County 1 S Monticello 8.0 in 0815 AM 01/07 36.83N/84.85W Whitley County 7 SW Corbin 7.0 in 0700 AM 01/07 36.87N/84.21W 1 NE Corbin 6.0 in 0930 PM 01/06 36.94N/84.10W Clio 5.8 in 1257 PM 01/07 36.82N/84.20W 1 NE Williamsburg 4.5 in 0610 PM 01/06 36.74N/84.16W Wolfe County Campton 8.3 in 0750 PM 01/06 37.73N/83.55W Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.
Environment
Low pressure rapidly developed over the Deep South early on Thursday and then lifted northeastward across the Southern Appalachians during the afternoon and to over the Chesapeake Bay on Thursday night. Strong upper level divergence contributed to strong lift through a deepening dendritic growth zone to produce heavy snowfall rates in excess of one inch per hour.
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| Figure 1: Frontal Analysis Shows Low Pressure Riding from the Deep South to Mid-Atlantic |
As the storm ramped up, several key factors were noted in the 1 PM mesoanalysis which revealed the reason for heavy snowfall rates across the area. The upper level jet structure (Figure 2) showed an ~120+ knot jet north of the Ohio River leading to strong upper level divergence (magenta contours) over eastern Kentucky. In Figure 3, the divergence caused strong lifting (purple-contoured omega values lower than -8) in the nearly saturated dendritic layer to spread into southern Kentucky. The dendritic layer is a portion of the atmosphere with temperatures between 0 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit — the optimal temperature range for the large, dry, fluffy snowflake development. Strong lifting through the moist dendritic layer led to very rapid, large flake development which in turn resulted in heavy snowfall. Figure 4 shows the depth of the dendritic layer, which increased through the event, leading to more efficient flake production. This was evident by snowfall rates averaging 1"+ per hour during the peak of the event and the snow-to-liquid ratios in the 12-15:1 range through the event — a bit higher than the climatological norm for this time of year.
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| Figure 2: 300 mb Winds & Divergence at 1PM | Figure 3: Dendritic Layer RH & Omega at 1PM | Figure 4: Dendritic Layer Depth at 1PM |
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