This weekend has been one of the coldest, snowiest winter starts in Central KY
Snow, sleet and a freezing wind chill. It’s winter all right, Central Kentucky.
Several areas reported about 4 inches of snow Thursday and roughly another inch fell in the early hours of Friday morning.
Through the weekend, some snow showers and flurries lingered around the Central Kentucky area while temperatures dropped to single digits and wind chills reached to below 15 degrees Sunday morning.
“This Arctic blast is the coldest this early in December since around this same time in 2010,” said WKYT Chief Meteorologist Chris Bailey in his Sunday forecast. “... The first half of December will go down as one of the coldest and snowiest starts we’ve ever had to the Meteorological Winter here in Kentucky.”
The weekend’s wintry mix is the season’s third accumulation. On Nov. 11, Lexington received its earliest measurable snowfall in more than 30 years, according to the National Weather Service. As of Dec. 14, about 5.5 inches of snow have already fallen in Lexington this month.
On Dec. 14, a number of area churches canceled Sunday service. As of about 2:30 p.m., Fayette County Public Schools and the University of Kentucky had yet to announce if they planned to close or operate on a delay Monday.
Bailey predicted wind chills will stay in the negative for much of Sunday and into Monday when temperatures will again remain in the single digits.
In preparation for cold temperatures, Lexington’s Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention activated its emergency winter weather plan. Emergency day centers and overnight shelters welcome all visitors and expand capacity when the plan is activated.
From midnight to about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Lexington Police officers responded to 12 crashes and 17 weather-related incidents across the city, LEX18 reported.
To avoid wrecks, it’s recommended drivers clear snow and ice from their own vehicles, increase following distance and slow down.
Though city crews worked overnight to treat roads, cold temperatures are making city streets slick. Bridges and overpasses, where ice forms more quickly, are especially dangerous for drivers.
According to the National Weather Service, the normal high and low temperature in Lexington in December is 44 and 28, respectively.
The average temperature for last December in Lexington was 41.3 degrees, about 3 degrees warmer than normal.
There was also 1.6 inches of snow accumulation in Lexington last December, slightly below the normal figure of 1.9 inches, according to the NWS.
Shelbyville still holds the record for the coldest temperature recorded in Kentucky. On Jan. 19, 1994, the city reached 37 degrees below zero after a three-day snowstorm. In Lexington, the temperature on the same day was about 20 degrees below.
The Arctic air mass is expected to leave the region Tuesday and temperatures will likely warm to above freezing by the afternoon of Dec. 16.
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