Top five ice storms in South-Central Kentucky

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – We are well into the heart of December and winter weather season, so let’s take a look at the top five worst ice storms we’ve seen across the WBKO viewing area of all time.

1- The Great Ice Storm of 1951

From January 29th to February 2nd in 1951, a huge storm system impacted the viewing area, leaving up to four inches of ice glaze on trees, powerlines, and other infrastructure. Not only was the ice a mess, but there was snow that later fell on top of the ice, which made clean-up efforts much more difficult. Thankfully, due to the time that this happened, many people still had wood burning stoves. If a storm of similar magnitude were to happen today, the impacts would be much greater since many people have switched over to electric heating.

2- Ohio Valley Ice Storm

Many folks will remember this ice storm that impacted our region in 2009. Starting in the late evening hours on January 26th, mixed precipitation began falling before quickly switching over to freezing rain for many across the area. Snow totals were higher for areas to the north, but as you went farther south and west in Kentucky, ice totals were higher. By the time the precipitation ended on January 28th, some areas saw nearly two inches of ice glaze accumulations. This caused power outages that lasted nearly a week across the Western Kentucky parkways. There is still some tree damage that can be spotted near the parkways, which is a reminder of the damage that this storm caused.

3- 1994 Ice Storm

On February 9th, 1994, temperatures went from abnormally mild in the 60s to frigid in the teens and 20s, all in a few hours along a cold front system (flashback to Christmas 2022, anyone?!) The rain quickly switched over to freezing rain and sleet, where there would be accumulations of up to three inches of ice glaze across our viewing area. Many places were without power for weeks while crews worked to put snapped power lines back up.

4- December 8th-9th Ice in Southern Kentucky

In December of 2018, a winter storm containing a mix of freezing rain, sleet, and snow arrived in our area. Many areas had glazings of a quarter inch with some isolated areas having nearly a half-inch of ice glaze present. The ice wreaked havoc on roads and power lines, causing many people to go without power for at least a day or more.

5- January 12th Ice Storm

This ice storm struck well before the late-year one in 2018 and was memorable due to the amount of snow that came with it. Warren, Allen, and Simpson counties all reported a quarter inch of glaze ice from this storm while parts of Edmonson, Grayson, and Butler counties received 6 inches of snow. Travel was difficult during this storm, with many accidents occurring as a result of the wintry conditions. Thankfully, due to the lower amounts of icing, not as many people lost power as some of the ice storms mentioned above.

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