National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Heavy Rain in the Southern U.S.; Winter Storm to Impact the Northern Mid-Atlantic and Interior Northeast

A storm system stretching from the Tennessee Valley to the Gulf Coast will bring a variety of hazards to the Eastern U.S. through Tuesday. On the south side of the system, heavy rain and thunderstorms will persist across the Southern U.S. Further north, a wintry precipitation mix is expected from the Central Appalachians to the interior Northeast through Tuesday. Read More >

A cold, wet pattern persisted for much of March. While this did prevent severe weather from occurring (other than a roof blown off of a barn near Waynesburg on the 17th), it resulted in several snowy systems passing through the region.

Snow fell somewhere in southern Indiana or central Kentucky every day from the 6th to the 14th. The most significant snows fell from the 11th to the 13th, with 6 to 10 inches falling on Lexington on the 12th. 

Another snowy system came through on the 20th-21st. This time Louisville and southern Indiana were the recipients of 6-10 inches of wet snowfall.

Then on the 24th a stripe of snow stretched from North Dakota to the Appalachians, and brought a dusting of snow to the Kentucky Bluegrass.

In addition to the cold, flooding that peaked in February lingered into the first few days of March, and minor flooding returned by the end of the month.

  Average Temperature Departure from Normal Precipitation Departure from Normal Snowfall Departure from Normal
Bowling Green 47.3° -1.1° 4.26" -0.15" 2.3" +1.2"
Frankfort 42.9° -2.0° 4.73" +0.35"    
Lexington 43.0° -2.5° 5.32" +1.25" 12.2" +10.8"
Louisville Bowman 44.2° -2.9° 4.87" +0.71"    
Louisville International 45.3° -2.5° 5.05" +0.88" 11.9" +10.5"

 

Records

11th: Record snowfall of 3.0" at Lexington
12th: Record snowfall of 6.0" at Lexington
20th: Record snowfall of 3.7" at Louisville
21st: Record snowfall of 1.6" at Lexington, record snowfall of 4.9" at Louisville, record snow depth of 6" at Louisville, record cold high of 34° at Frankfort
24th: Record precipitation of 1.30" at Lexington, record precipitation of 1.22" at Louisville

6th snowiest March on record at Lexington and Louisville

Richmond, KY March 12, 2018

Richmond, Kentucky on the 12th. Photo: York Stunson