• June 19, 2013

Eastern Kentucky Weather

First Snowfall Climatology for Eastern Kentucky

Print
By: Jim Caldwell - Email
Updated: Wed 4:55 PM, Dec 12, 2012

While some higher elevation locations near the Virginia border have already witnessed their first snowfall of the 2012-2013 winter season, most east Kentuckians have yet to see a flake.

The folks at the NWS in Jackson released some interesting information on snowfall climatology. Check it out!

I'll have another post out later tonight about our wintry potential for next week.

While some higher elevation locations near the Virginia border have already witnessed their first snowfall of the 2012-2013 winter season, most east Kentuckians have yet to see a flake.  After temperatures hit the 70s earlier this month, many began wondering if it will snow at all this winter.  So, to see how abnormal or not this lack of snowfall truly is, we dug through the climate records and came up with the table below that lists the earliest recorded measurable snow date and the average first measurable snow date for 19 locations across eastern Kentucky.  Snow is considered measurable when at least one tenth of an inch has fallen.

 Location Station Elevation  Average Date of First Measurable Snow  Earliest Measurable Snow Station Active Years
 Barbourville 990 ft Dec 30  Nov 3, 1951 & 1956  1951-2012*
 Baxter (Harlan) 1164 ft Dec 22 Nov 3, 1954, 1966   1952-2012
 Buckhorn Lake 936 ft Dec 20  Nov 12, 1976  1964-1994
 Closplint 4ESE 1800 ft Dec 2  Oct 28, 2008  1980-2009
 Farmers 2S 680 ft Dec 11  Oct 30, 1925 & 2012  1904-2012*
 Hazard 840 ft Dec 28  Nov 2, 1954  1950-2012*
 London Airport 1188 ft Dec 13  Nov 2, 1966  1955-1994
 Manchester 4W 820 ft Dec 23  Nov 3, 1954 & 1966  1951-2006
 Middlesboro 1145 ft Dec 16  Nov 3, 1951 & 1954  1928-1990
 Mt. Sterling 960 ft Dec 10  Oct 28, 1925  1892-2012*
 Mt. Vernon 1160 ft Dec 16  Oct 31, 1993  1963-2012
 NWS Jackson 1357 ft Nov 29  Oct 20, 1989  1981-2012
 Oneida 760 ft Dec 31  Nov 12, 1976  1958-2011*
 Paintsville 1E 570 ft Dec 16  Nov 3, 1954  1933-2012
 Skyline 1SE 1200 ft Dec 11  Oct 30, 2012  1975-2012
 Somerset 2N 1020 ft Dec 22  Nov 2, 1954  1950-2012*
 Stearns 2S 1220 ft Dec 25  Nov 2, 1954  1954-2012*
 West Liberty 780 ft Dec 19  Oct 31, 2012  1948-2012*
 Williamsburg 1000 ft Dec 25  Nov 11, 1987  1948-2012*
  * Incomplete climate record 

Not surprising, the ridgetops normally see the first measurable snow of the season. The National Weather Service Office located near Jackson, at an elevation of 1357 feet, has the earliest average date of first measurable snowfall of November 29th.  Closplint, also a higher elevation site located in Harlan County at 1800 ft elevation, has a similarly early average date of first snowfall of December 2nd.  However, the average date for the first measurable snow typically doesn't occur until mid to late December in the valleys of east Kentucky. 

 

C-Ya Bye

Read More Blogs
A Quick Note About Lightning
Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.
powered by Disqus

News Headlines

Urban Outfitters pulls pill-bottle shot glasses

Posted: 4:02 PM - Political leaders in drug-plagued Kentucky say they're pleased that retailer Urban Outfitters has stopped selling flasks, shot glasses and pint glasses that look like prescription pill bottles.

More News Headlines

WKYT

2851 Winchester Rd. Lexington, Ky 40509 859-299-0411 - switchboard 859-299-2727 - newsroom
Gray Television, Inc. - Copyright © 2002-2013 - Designed by Gray Digital Media - Powered by Clickability
User Agent: CCBot/2.0 - 183233492