Look back at Lexington’s ‘snowiest days.’ Could Winter Storm Blair surpass it?
READ MORE
Kentucky is hit with significant winter storm
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for many areas of the state.
Expand All
As Fayette County prepares for more snow and ice Sunday afternoon and into Monday, some parts of the state are forecast to see nearly a foot of snow.
The latest forecast from the National Weather Service office in Louisville has much of Kentucky under a winter weather warning continuing through 7 p.m. Monday, including Lexington. Most counties in the southern reaches of the state are under a winter weather advisory.
The storm system began Sunday morning and is expected to bring dangerous conditions to Kentucky, with snowfall totals in some parts of the state forecast as high as 10 inches and ice accumulation up to three-quarters of an inch.
In Lexington, the weather service predicts anywhere from 6 to 8 inches of snowfall for this round of the winter storm. The NWS confirmed Sunday afternoon the snowfall did break the previous daily snowfall record for Jan. 5 in Lexington, which was 2.8 inches in 1979.
Could Winter Storm Blair surpass some of Lexington’s record snowfalls for one day? Here’s a look back at the data.
Record snowfall in February 2015
Lexington’s most recent “snowiest day” was nearly a decade ago in February 2015, when the city saw 10.2 inches of snow, according to NWS data. It was one of the worst winter storms in two decades.
At the time, accumulations of 10 to 15 inches were expected in Central Kentucky. More snow fell that Monday than during any other 24-hour period since 1998, city officials said.
Record snowfall in February 1998
In the last 30 years, the highest record snowfall in a day for Lexington came Feb. 4, 1998, when the city recorded 11 inches. This snowstorm is remembered as one of the top 10 winter events in Central Kentucky.
From the evening of Feb. 3 until the morning of Feb. 6, snow poured out of the sky, dumping as much as 25 inches onto parts of Kentucky, according to the weather service.
Powerlines were down across most of the Louisville area, roads became covered, slick, hazardous and even impassible in some cases. Over the next three days, three people died in weather-related traffic accidents across the state, and another four were injured. States of emergency were declared for most counties in Kentucky.
Lexington’s snowiest days
Other record snowfall events, according to NWS data, include:
- March 5, 2015 - 10 inches
- Jan. 17, 1994 - 10 inches
- Jan. 22, 1966 - 9.4 inches
- Jan. 26, 1943 - 13.4 inches
- Jan. 19, 1936 - 8.9 inches
This story was originally published January 5, 2025 at 3:06 PM.
