Winter storm brought less snow, more ice than forecast to KY. Just how much?
Much of Kentucky missed out on the blockbuster snowfall forecasters expected ahead of Winter Storm Fern, with significant ice accumulation proving to be the bigger problem in the storm’s aftermath.
Altogether, Lexington received 5.5 inches of snow and 1.48 inches of precipitation. Ahead of the storm, forecasters anticipated a 70% chance Lexington would receive more than 8 inches of snow and a 50 to 60% chance of more than a foot.
Elsewhere in the state, Louisville received 5.9 inches and Bowling Green got 3.5 inches of snow.
Samantha Wilson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the Herald-Leader Monday a snow-packed band of the storm swung north, dumping 13 to 14 inches of snow across Southern Indiana and Cincinnati.
Areas south of that band saw more sleet and freezing rain, which caused significant power outages in Southern and Eastern Kentucky that lingered in some areas. According to PowerOutage.US, some 15,000 Kentucky customers were still without power Wednesday, though the scope of the outages seemed to be improving.
Pulaski County led the pack with 3,697 outages remaining, and ice accumulation totals from the NWS show the area was among the hardest hit in Kentucky.
How much ice did Kentucky get from Winter Storm Fern?
The weather service reports that damaging amounts of ice from 0.20 to 0.80 inches were noted across much of Central and Eastern Kentucky.
The highest totals were reported in parts of Pulaski and Russell counties, which received as much as 0.78 inches of ice. Neighboring Casey County got 0.5 inches of ice.
Parts of Allen County saw between half an inch and 0.65 inches, and in Western Kentucky near Elizabethtown, the area got a quarter inch of ice.
Freezing temperatures are expected to hamper clean up efforts. In Lexington, the high isn’t slated to get above freezing again until Tuesday, Feb. 3, the latest NWS forecast shows.
Gov. Andy Beshear was expected to provide another update on the state’s winter storm response at 3 p.m. Eastern Wednesday.
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This story was originally published January 28, 2026 at 12:31 PM.