Ice Storm WARNING in effect for Lexington until Tuesday afternoon

DEM Blogger

February 15, 2021

The first round of wintry weather has moved out of the area, but the next round will arrive here shortly. This second wave will be more potent and should arrive within the next hour or so across south-central Kentucky and work its way into the rest of Kentucky and southern Indiana by mid to late afternoon. Colder air will wrap around this 2nd wave a bit more than the first, so we`ll gradually see that transition zone of snow/sleet/freezing rain shift slowly eastward through the day into the overnight hours. Snowfall rates this afternoon and evening could be as high as 1-2 inches per hour.

The main changes from the morning update were to expand the ice storm warnings a little bit to the north and west. It appears that a quarter to half inch of ice will be possible from a line extending along and east of Lexington, KY to Tompkinsville, KY. Snow and sleet accumulations have also been reduced east of I-65. Please be mindful that the snow to sleet transition zone will be fairly narrow (more so than we are able to depict in some of the graphics), and there could be portions of counties where the western end could receive several more inches of snow vs the eastern end.

There is high confidence that a period of heavy snow this afternoon and tonight will make travel treacherous, if not impossible for a time.

Forecast graphic