Top Ten Cold Events

1. Brrr...

This three day outbreak of cold weather includes some of the coldest recorded temperatures in the state of Kentucky, including the all-time record of -37 degrees F at Shelbyville on the 19th.  The average temperature that day for Shelbyville was a bracing -19 degrees.  Other stations in the area also reported low temperatures in the -20's to -30's, including Frankfort, Louisville and Lexington.  Large snowfalls came a couple days before the cold, dropping up to 20 inches in the northeast portion of the region.

A low pressure system sank down from the Northwest Territories in Canada and across the US border bringing with it very cold air and a strong cold front. After the front had passed, temperatures across the Midwest and Northeast dipped into the negatives for lows and in some cases, the highs as well.  Relief came at the end of the week with balmy temperatures in the mid-20s.

image from: https://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/?n=top_20_weather_events

 

 Record daily snowfall on April 6, 2007, for Opening Day at Keeneland Race Track in Lexington.

After what was a warm early spring, a strong cold front moved through the area at the beginning of April, bringing with it arctic air.  Temperatures reached into the 20's and 30's every morning for 6 straight days (5th-10th).  Over this time period, the high temperatures that were reaching into the mid-40's were equal to the normal low temperatures for the month while being 20-30 degrees cooler than what one usually expects at this time of the year. 

The late freeze also had huge impacts on the agriculture throughout the region.  Losses were suffered in nearly all crops, including peaches, apples, pears, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, corn, soybeans, and wheat.  Almost all of the peaches were destroyed.  Half of the wheat crop was destroyed with $63,000,000 in damage.  The corn crop recorded $5,000,000 in losses.  Of the twenty million dollar fruit industry, $16,000,000 in damage was incurred.  Depending on the variety, up to 90% of grape crops were lost.

Photo:  Steve Blake

3. It's So Cold Outside...

On the night of January 18th, 1963, a very strong cold front made its way across the Midwest and through much of the Southeast United States.  Behind this front was a very cold, arctic air mass coming down from Canada that movedslowly southeast, and sat southwest of Kentucky, bringing freezing temperatures throughout much of the Great Plains and Southeast. Lasting over 6 days with low temperatures reaching into the -30's with the lowest of -34 degrees at Bonnieville, in Hart County, KY.

This event was unique in that the difference between the high and low temperatures were large.  In some cases, this difference could be up to 50 and as high as 70 degrees!  The temperatures before this event were quite mild for January, but dropped into the low 20's and high 10's for the highs with brutally cold lows.  There was a day in the middle of the period with slightly warmer temperatures, but they fell back down quickly before leveling out around normal.

From: The Daily Weather Map, February 2, 1951
The temperature at Louisville on this map is -2 degrees. 

Click map for larger image.

2/8/1899-2/14/1899

Forecasts from the US Daily Weather Maps series:

Saturday, February 9th, 1899- 8PM
Indictation for the next 24 hours
For Tennessee and Kentucky: fair, warmer, variable winds

In this six day stretch of time, temperatures got down well into the negative values for both highs and lows. On the 9th and 10th, some places did not get above subzero temperatures during the day. Daily mean temperatures got as low as -16 degrees in Marion County, while their low for the day was -30, with a high of -2.

Accompanied by the cold were massive amounts of snowfall throughout the month. Many stations reported over ten days with measureable precipitation. The Louisville Weather Bureau (now NWS) office reported 18 days with precipitation. By the end of the month, however, temperatures of the mid-60's were being reported around the area.

High and Low Temperatures for December 22nd, 1989
From: The Daily Weather Map

High and Low temperatures on January 18th, 1977
From: The Daily Weather Map

Really two events in one, they are only seperated by 2 days of relatively warmer temperatures.  Lows for both time frames got well into the negative numbers during both the11th-13th and the 16th through the 19th.  Daily mean temperatures dropped well into the negatives with some places reporting colder than -10 degrees for their daily mean.  This month is the coldest on record for Louisville with an average temperature of 18.6 degrees.  As with other events, large snowfall accompanied this one as well, with up to 6 inches in some places. 

Hi and Low Temperatures on December 25th, 1983.
From: US Daily Weather Maps

Just in time for Christmas, snow fell across the region on the 21st-22nd. As the system moved to the southeast, it brought with it cold temperatures across much of the Midwest and Southeast U.S. Though it moved out of the region fairly quickly, with temperatures rising, it did not disappoint fans of cold weather. Record Christmas day low temperatures were set in Louisville, Lexington, and Bowling Green of -7,-9 and -7 respectively.

Christmas Day saw temperatures below zero degrees for almost all of the region. With temperatures reaching only the -5 to -10 range, but winds from the north blowing from 10-15mph, wind chill values were well in the -20s and -30s. Many places saw only single digit highs on Christmas.

With a brief reprieve in the middle of the event and temperatures breaking into single digit negative numbers, the length of the event earns it the final spot on the list.  This month is tied with January of 1977 with 7 days of subzero temperatures, but 1977 wins in the magnitude of temperature.  With continous blasts of cold air coming down from Canada, what saved the region from a colder time was the quick moving nature of the weather systems and they stayed well to the north of central Kentucky and southern Indiana.  Some places across the region did see -15 degrees or colder, and the average lows ranged from 0 to -10 degrees.  If those systems had dipped further south, the average low would have ranged from -15 to -20 instead.