Good Saturday, everyone. Our winter storm is winding down to start the weekend, leaving the bluegrass encased in a blanket of snow and ice. Frigid air is now back, with a true arctic front ready to bring more snow and even colder air by later Monday and Tuesday.
Many roads across Kentucky are snow and ice covered to start the day, so please be careful out there. Winds have also been blowing the snow around, but those winds slowly diminish. Snow totals overachieved from what I thought in western Kentucky and underachieved in several places of central and eastern Kentucky. That much slower transition to snow certainly didn’t help our cause. Remember me saying “the slower, the lower”? Yeahhh.
Regardless, it was a VERY high impact winter storm for travelers across the region and one we tracked for a week here on KWC.
I will hook you up with your travel tracking tools here in a bit.
As I mentioned, frigid air is back today with temps generally in the low 20s for highs. Wind chills will be colder than that, as a flurries linger behind the departing shield of snow.
Lows by Sunday morning hit the single digits with afternoon highs in the low 20s.
Our MLK Holiday finds a strong arctic front blasting through here, likely bringing accumulating snows by evening and into Tuesday…
Gusty winds will also be noted with that setup, as bitterly cold temps settle back in. Highs on Tuesday may struggle into the 10-15 degree range after starting the day near zero for some…
Wednesday morning lows can also make a run at zero or below…
The good news is, that should be followed by a big rebound in temps by next weekend.
On that note, I need to actually sleep for once this week.:) Updated come later today, but I leave you with your early day tracking tools…
Hamburg Area from WKYT Studio
Lexington
Fifth Third Pavilion Live Cam
Downtown Lexington
I-75 @ Newtown Pike
Lexington
I-75 @ Clays Ferry Bridge South
Between Lexington and Richmond
US 60 @ US 127
Frankfort
US 60 @ Chenault Road
Near Millville
Winchester
Georgetown
I-64 at KY-801
Near Morehead
Louisville
Bardstown
I-65 MP 92.4
Elizabethtown
Louie B Nunn MP 3
Near Glasgow
Natcher Parkway MP 5
Near Bowling Green
I-24 MP 7 @ US 62
Paducah
I-275 approaching KY 20/Airport
Near Covington
I-71/I-75 at Buttermilk Pike
Near Covington
I-71/I-75 at 12th St.
Covington
Stay safe and take care.
And again, South Central Ky was a bust!
Not really
This is what makes you an expert.
How was it not, at least in relation to the map? Example being Richmond that didn’t even get 2”. That’s less than half the low end of the map. Same for Lexington and Winchester that I have seen. CB did a very logical forecast, but did not pan out for a lot of folks. I expected most to get the map, but the NWS apparently were on to something. Rare, but happens 😉
Looks like folks to the west and NW got the map range. Being pragmatic, we could say it is a stretch to call this a bust, just as much as saying this was a storm for a lot of folks.
I’m in Louisville… Not even 2 inches in my area. Definitely a bust for many. It snowed here for hours and hours yesterday and just never really accumulated. Part of the problem being the wind blew so hard and part of the problem being my area just never saw those heavy bands. What a tough storm to call though, the models we’re all over the place. Seems like the low balling GFS was pretty on target.
An inch? I was hoping at least 3.
Around an inch here, which was pretty close to what was forecasted. Looks like some upslope might bring it closer to two?
I just shoveled are fair share here in Southern Ohio. We got it all. Rain and quite a bit of ice and snow. The wind is blowing the snow around. We are on a level 3 snow emergency no one is suppose to be out on the roads except the police and road crews.
Here in Pennsylvania where I am it’s snowing hard and got at least 7 inches on the ground. Looking at the radar more to come over the next few hours.
Where in PA?
Has anyone else noticed that this person’s posts consist of nothing but how much snow he / she has in his / her area… which is always more than any area of Kentucky? I mean you no harm, but I’m not entirely sure your intentions are good…
Maybe 2 inches south side of Lex and that’s being generous. Definitely under achieved. I don’t know about “slower lower” as we were told on tv it was snowing right when we’re told it would, i.e., rush hour. We just never got the heavier bands that were forecast.
Moral of this story is never underestimate the dry slot. It has robbed many a snow lover over the years in central KY.
Rooting for the clipper system to over achieve Monday.
Then winter can go away. The spike into the 60s whetted my appetite for spring!
I see now the WSW was dropped at midnight for central KY so I didn’t miss much snow overnight. Was hoping to get up and see at least the four inches of 5he 4-8 predicted. Oh well, less to shovel, right?
Agreed! The stuff drifts in my driveway, so when drier snow, it’s triple the total and lots of shoveling. Plus we did not get the expected ice layer which would have made it worse to remove. Roads also not as bad as could have been.
Even making snowmen is awkward, since colder and drier snow. Sleigh riding though takes a hit, but overall seems more practical positives 🙂 Snow fan spin FTW!
Nothing more than a coating in southern breathitt
We overachieved in southern McCracken Co in the west. .20 ice, 1.25″ sleet, and 5-6″ of snow (inaccurate measurements because of the wind, even on snow boards)
Hey, at least we did get *some* snow. The ground is white, it’s cold…It looks and feels like winter. I hope that clipper has the type of snows I saw a few years ago. This arctic front came through here and it was a total whiteout, literally. I still have it on video. I think it snowed an inch in 15 minutes as it blasted through.. then the snows went to more light snowish for a while. I hope next weekends warmup isn’t the end of winter. I can’t imagine going through Feb/March with constant warm weather an no threat of snow at all.
Yeah at least y’all got white ground…lol all I got was a few flurries here in se TN…just south of Knoxville…in a area where getting snow is like winning the lottery..lol..even Knoxville got snow.on ground this morning…the dreaded valley!! Downslope!!! Not a good place if your a snow lover .
So the GFS was the winner sort of. NAM was too good to be true.
Here in Breckinridge co we have .25 ice and 4 to 5 in snow nice to finally get some snow just goes to show you the mets try but at the end of the day Mother Nature is still in charge hope to get some more Monday I’m with marklex hope winter has more to offer and I think it will. got some decent drifts from all the wind to by the way
Thanks Chris, You did a wonderful job with tracking this storm along with the commentators on your blog. Yesterday, here in Taylor County we had an alarming bit of ice, followed by back side flurries and then a band of heavier snow later in the evening. At lease the ground is covered and looks to be about two inches of snow. The wind blew a lot of the snow, therefore I do not have an exact total. Have a great rest, you deserve it.
Very nicely said Schroeder..I concur..
Maybe 1/2 of snow if that here in my part of Knott County.
In the light of day, even less snow that thought in south Lex – inch to inch and a half maybe. Feederband posted what I was going to ask; which model was most accurate? I would like to see from 3 days out, 2 days, 1 day and even 12 hours because all the model runs posted on this blog weren’t even close for my area and yes I know winter precip is the toughest to nail but sometimes the old eye test is good too regardless of what the models are saying is going to happen. As late as 11:00 last night we were being told by several sources 3-5, 4-8 and not to be fooled by the radar not picking up dry snow – well, sometimes what you see is what you don’t get. ; )
On the the next one.
I’m no model expert, but it seems to me they were all full of Bologna.. Showing widespread 6-10 amounts right up before it starts and most of us end up with a general 1-3, I completely understand why the NWS is always skeptical of these outrageous model runs. More often than not they don’t pan out.
Some people just live to complain and yell “bust” or “hype” and take jabs at Chris.
Though I do think sometimes there are some nefarious drive-by posts, most think CB rightfully rocks, but get a tad frustrated with the alarmingly consistent models misses. Even when close up, the models seem to get snow wrong. I think the models are where the ire is really directed. That, or frustration with getting self hyped, only to let themselves down.
I think that’s the underlying problem. For all the computing power we throw at them, our weather models seem pretty awful at predicting winter precipitation even from 18-24 hours out. Perhaps it’s an intractable problem.
With us approaching the year 2020, one would think the weather models would be more accurate, but in many ways, I think they are as bad or worse than pre-2000. Is it too much data input thus data time?
A note to those ocmaining about models : Weather models are much better now than in years gone by. A five day weather forecast today is as good as a three day forecast 20 years ago. Here’s a graphic that is enlightening
http://twitter.com/fbrody/status/951492211992129536
and also this article
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/magazine/the-weatherman-is-not-a-moron.html?referer=http://www.google.com/
Of course it doesn’t mean that they are perfect and don’t need improvement, but the difference between two and six inches of snow is pretty small in terms of overall liquid (especially if you have a high snow ratio). Given the difficulty of the problem it’s almost miraculous that we can predict the storm and its basic track four days out. Think about that for a second…
Very few places in the US are as difficult to predict winter weather than our area and the Ohio river valley. Soooo many variables and you have to go with the data, historical analysis and gut instinct. Not taking a jabs at anyone because I know the difficulty. I was almost a met once then life threw me a curve ball. Thanks to everyone reporting last night.
Thankful for snow here in Louisville’s East end! Everything that was just brown and gloomy is white. My daughter and I will have a great time outside today! Thanks for all you do CB!
Well one thing is for sure, all the retailers love over blown snow forecasts. Gets those registers ringing. This one was definitely an underachiever. Not for Western Ky.
A bust here in Morehead, a dusting to maybe an inch in spots?? What do I do with all this Bread?
Bread pudding..ummm
Yeah , and I had everything ready to make snow cream 8-(
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-americamovil-us&source=android-browser&q=what+all+can+you+do+with+excess+bread
Even though my yard in Lexington didn’t get the desired 4-8, it is still a beautiful sight. Just glad to have snow on the ground. All mets had a hard time with the details of this storm considering all the variables that were at play. Thanks CB for helping us have fun with the science of nature! Hoping for more snow on Monday and Tuesday!
Thanks Chris. Get some sleep. Here at my house we got a lot of rain and a some sleet. The change to snow was around 6:30. With the wind blowing like it is, hard to tell how hard it was actually snowing. We have a little over an inch, with about a .10 of ice to go with it. It normally happens that when we start as rain in this part of the state, we wind up with cold rain or ice. We got that and some snow, so ibam not complaining. It is still snowing here this morning some. Light, but still beautiful to watch. I think we will see a decent one before winter is over. Have a great Saturday everyone. Stay warm, and safe!
I don’t know if we can handle another week of single digit temps here in southeast ky, the water situation is already a disaster in several counties. Mine was out all week and some have been without for two weeks..
Roughly 4.5″ NW here of BG.
Had a rough time switching to snow in my part of southeastern KY. However, upslope flow this morning is providing a light to moderate snow at times. Roads now covered. Closing in on an inch or so. With a thin glaze of ice underneath
Also have received more snow since the advisory ended. Advisory maybe should have been extended into the mid morning hours as road conditions here are very slick with snow still coming down light to moderately
For the upslope counties in southeastern ky
No where near what was forecasted for Central Ky….thank goodness
Almost 1/2 inch in my part of knott county.
CB’s call for snowfall map was the highest out of any MET out there. I never saw a 7 or 8 in anyone’s map. The NWS had 4-6 as their high Mark at any one point. The Louisville MET’s a actually did a really good job with their maps this time around, with most saying 2-4 and 3-5. All that being said, still love following this blog. Sometimes, you don’t get it right, and sometimes you look like a genius. The exact amount at my house was 2.9 inches. We can round that to 3.
Chris’ exuberance, like mine, sometimes leads to overestimating by two inches. Sometimes I think it’s more of a potential snowfall map than a practical map. The nws prefers to err on the side of practicality…and be pleasantly surprised if the snowfall exceeds. However, and this is a big however, Chris had plenty of reasons to put out that map this time. As we know the models fluctuated widely and wildly…I can’t quibble with his maps for this storm nor can I quibble with the original nws approach. Both had their reasons.
The models usually have more agreement 24 hours out. This time they didn’t. Here in Henderson, we ended up with a thick layer of ice and six inches of snow. The local meteorologists called for 2-4. As it was leaving here last night, they finally got it right by saying areas like Lexington would get less. Guys like Chris didn’t have a whole lot of help from the models this time around for sure.
Curious,are you a met also..
No. Wanted to be. Now I’m retired and have a sense of appreciation for how life works. I’d like to call it experience…ha!
To follow up…started in-depth with weather fifty years ago when a tornado killed our neighbors…one of the very rare EF5’s to ever hit Ohio. Used to visit the weather service offices for my three years in college and they allowed me access to their back room (ticker tape machines were used back then).
About a 1/4 here in Harlan with morning snow showers….still a working on that 1 inch for the 2017-2018 season-to-date:(
Dang! I really thought you might have gotten close to an inch out of this Terry. We got our usual heavy rain and very light dusting so we are still without any measurable snow for the season. Bright side is, not disappointment at all because all model runs always left us completely out of the action. At least the models didn’t give us false hope as it did a great many in KY.
Two inches or slightly more in Ashland area…points north picked up at least three. Roads are reasonable this morning. Evansville and west ky ended up in the deformation comma head and did very well. That weakened as it moved east…which normally happens…and we came out on the short end. But the models for us were pretty close to our results throughout the last 72 hrs. We had a few outlier model runs that showed more snow but mostly it was on track. The HRRR showed slightly more than we got but it was off by one county. That’s close enough for a cigar. Looking now to the clipper.
Rodger got lucky with a deformation band setting up shop over his area near Henderson for five hours yesterday afternoon. Ended up with five inches. Hoping everyone gets more Monday for MLK Day. Rodger in Dodger
Same here, although Zion technically. A very pleasant surprise.
I expect no more belly aching for snow the rest of the winter from Rodger in Dodger. lol
Well … yeah Rodger’s usually pretty happy with one good snow each winter. It will be tougher to belly ache from here on but he reserves the right nonetheless lol. Rodger in Dodger
Yesterday morning in Richmond it was 59, by noon it was 36. The problem is that it stayed at 36 till 6.30. Within 15 minutes it dropped to 32 and then started sleeting, then quickly within 20 minutes snowing light small flakes.
So, cold front came fast, but to get close to 6 inches, rather than the 1 1/2 in we actually recieved, we needed the cold front to be 4 degrees colder a lot sooner!!!!
Also, there was never any big flakes or strong bands with this in Richmond .
But…I still enjoy looking at a white snowy ground.
Ironically some could end up getting more snow with the Monday clipper, since cold air should not be a factor 😉 Not a lot of snow, but neither was this event for most.
Temps not falling fast enough to me was the main reason..Jackson NWS had our temps falling between 7-10 pm..Started snowing here around 11:30..Moisture starved by then..Not complaining..Snow is overrated..Give me warm days and cool nights occasionally and i’m happy camper..
Also, we are only 2 days away, I hope in next post Chris gives us his thought on how much snow he thinks monday evening? Just a couple weeks ago models showed similar scenarios, but didn’t pan to nothing. So will it be nothing, or overachieve?
Most mets in my neck of the woods saying a inch with a isolated 2 inch not out of the question for Monday’s clipper.
1 to 1.5 inches in my part of Richmond… Not what was predicted, hoped for or expected. But, hey, that doubles our total for the year and is more than all of last year.
Louisville SW Jefferson County had 2.5-3.0 inch snowfall amounts and Cloversport KY I’m thinking that’s in Breckinridge County reports of 5.0 inches of snow there.
No complaints from me. There are worse things in life than not getting the forecasted amount of snow.
So very true!
Thanks for that insightful input Hamlin lol
Pouring here at the moment in my little part of seky.
Jeff Hamlin, how much fell in Danville? Looks like we got about 3 or 4 inches or so out here on the fork, (SW Boyle County.) Drizzle all day, about 30 minutes of sleet around dusk, then snow until about 3 AM.
Not sure, as I have lived in Richmond since August 2014. My guess is 1 or 2 inches.
Thanks for that insightful input Hamlin lol
We got 3.5″ in Danville….
Also thought the Nam done well..Believe it constantly had western parts the most..If it would not spit out crazy totals then probably would be more believable but that’s what makes it fun to look at….Not looked back to see how it perform in other parts of the state..
Yep, two distinct runs of the NAM showed WKY getting more snow though it bounced around quite a bit from east to west. Rule of thumb is to cut NAM model snow totals in half and that might be what you get. It’s almost always over-done. Rodger in Dodger
2 inches or so in Bardstown.
In central Scott Co, I believe it was a story of being just a tad too warm. In the morning the temps tanked very quickly but then held steady at 35° from about 10:00 to 5:00. Once it did drop below freezing, it moved from sleet to snow within 20 minutes. The wind has made measuring difficult but on the deck railing it is right at 2 inches. Honestly, the biggest disappointment is it doesn’t look that great for sledding.
Thanks Chris for everything you do. Those of us that don’t watch TV really rely on this blog for our meteorological info.
Owensboro got slammed! It is just beautiful but it was downright scary at times yesterday. The snow started after hours and hours of sleet, at least an inch of it. The snow fell fast and the wind was brutal. It’s still pretty windy this morning actually. All together I’d estimate there are 5-6 inches of total accumulation. Looking forward to more snow Monday night!!
Congrats..Enjoy.Now get out there and have some fun.
I’ve not saw too many good snows where it rains for half the day before switching over. Not too many days where it is just going to pour (precipitation) all day with no let up and that’s what it would of took yesterday for big snow totals to occur. It started raining early morning in Southern KY and didn’t start snowing until after 7 pm. Most of the good snow totals occur after quick changeovers from rain to snow. Not 12 hour changeovers.
Barely an inch here near huntington, but everything is frozen solid. Just enough snow on the ground to look pretty, with some festive flakes floating from the sky.
Be safe out there everyone!
Tn, Chris for all of your dedication and long nights.As was said before we have a white covering and that’s alot more then we had last year. The models did over play this one but that all to common dry slot bled us here in lex.of totals,also the type of snow that fell ( the small dusty flakes, instead of the more 30 degree robust type) took away the fluff factor
..Doc
Thanks for your forecasts Chris. It was very accurate for Northern Jackson County Ohio. We have about 5 inches on the ground. We had sleet and freezing rain also. You deserve a good rest. Careful out there all.
Looks interesting for Tuesday.Of course it’s a model but what else have we got..
http://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/models/gfs/2018011312/gfs_mslp_pcpn_frzn_seus_12.png
In order to receive a major snowstorm in Kentucky ( 15″ to 20″ ), the surface low complete with an upper level low ( Alberta Clipper ), would have to come together over the state of Arkansas and move through the Tennessee valley towards North Carolina and stall. This would give the whole state of Kentucky widespread heavy snow. Will this happen this year ? It sure can and will probably be in February or March when my older sister comes up for a visit from Florida. LOL
Good news is, I finally topped 1 inch total for the season in Teays Valley WV. I never felt good about this system. We seldom do well in these changeover events. Most of moisture is gone by the time the cold arrives. Seen it too many times. Bad news is, Charleston NWS already has me with a high of 38 Monday and late day rain. Just as I suspected another DOA Clipper.
A guesstimate of between 1 and 2 inches in Dorton of Pike County, and most of that this morning.
Thanks Chris for all your time and dedication. Sitting in Clay with about one inch, just as I expected so no disappointment here!
Many of you are deeply serious about tracking these storms and might enjoy a project. The only difference between two inches of snow and zero inches is about 0.20 of liquid precip…that’s not a lot. It would be interesting to plot the anticipated total precip totals by model for rain storms also and see how close the estimate is to the actual. I think it would show us the same variation we face with our snow estimates. And it would reinforce the idea that we’ve still got a long ways to go to go from guesscasts (is that a better word?) to something we can take to the bank.
For comparison to forecast maps, actual snow depth this morning
http://www.weather.gov/lmk/01132018depth
Splendid! I saved it for my daily file. Thanks.
To heck with the actual vs. models folks. Had a blast for a few days watching forecasting from you all & CB. Thanks CB for providing a great community forum.
Done with winter in mid January????????