Winter Storm Warning – March 2-3

DEM Blogger

March 1, 2014

BLUF*: Lexington is now under a winter storm warning from 10:00 am on Sunday, March 2nd until 1:00 pm on Monday, March 3rd. Go to the National Weather Service’s Lexington forecast page for the latest forecast.

DEM participated in this afternoon’s conference call with NWS Louisville (click here for the briefing slides in PDF format). As shown in the updated map to the right (click it to enlarge it), Lexington’s precipitation outlook remains severe and dangerous.

Timing for Lexington: the system will move in on Sunday morning giving us less than an inch of rain. We’ll see it change over to freezing rain shortly before sunset. We’ll receive roughly a quarter- to a half-inch of ice over Sunday night. Around midnight, precipitation will then change over to snow, which will last through noon Monday. The Louisville-Lexington corridor is expected to receive 4 to 6 inches of snow.

Wind Sunday night and Monday will amplify the problems caused by the ice. With gusts up to 30 mph, NWS anticipates substantial damage to trees and power lines. Temperatures will remain low through Tuesday night, with the lowest wind chills coming on Monday night – so we won’t see much of the accumulations melt off until at least Wednesday.

DEM will continue to monitor this storm as it moves into the area. Again, please review our information on ice storm and extreme cold preparedness and take appropriate actions to keep yourself and your family safe. Follow us here, on Twitter (@LexKYEM), and on Facebook (LexingtonKYEM) for the latest information.

(For historical reference, the 2009 ice storm gave us more than an inch of ice and 2 to 3 inches of snow, while 2003 saw 1.25 to 1.5 inches of ice. The lesser amounts of ice in this forecast don’t make it any less hazardous, though, particularly when it comes to road conditions.)

* Bottom Line Up Front, for those of you who collect acronyms.