It's hard to believe this was not the 'Outstanding Storm of the Month'. According to the National Climatic Data Center, the January 4 storm that raked the Appalachians and East coast garnered those honors.
However, for much of our region, the January 16-18 storm was perhaps the most outstanding winter storm rivaling heavyweight winter storms of the late 1970's. Today, people are still talking about the weather that occurred during those 24 hours or so. Record snowfall amounts for several locations along the Ohio River on top of significant amounts of ice, then followed by the coldest temperatures that may never be surpassed, are a few credentials that rank this storm, at least in Louisville, as the most memorable winter storm on record.
True, the 1978 series of heavy snows and extreme cold was much more long-lasting and affected a much broader areal coverage. But, the 1994 storm was indeed a classic in its own right.
The January 16-18, 1994 storm was not even supposed to be that big of a deal for residents in Louisville. I recall weather forecasts by all local meteorologists who only forecast an inch or so of snow with a negligible amount of freezing rain. Some forecasts up to 1-3" snow seemed improbable.
Then, it began to rain. The problem was the temperature fell to the critical point and fell further afterward. Ice amounts up to a half inch were observed. Bust number one.
Later that evening, a changeover to snow occurred. And it snowed...and it snowed...and it snowed the entire night at rates of 1-2" per hour. Bust number two.
By the time the snow ended, areas along the Ohio River reported 12-16". Louisville's official amount was 15.9". Perry and Spencer counties to Floyd, Harrison, and Clark counties of Indiana all reported over a foot of snow
The city of Louisville was literally paralyzed. UPS was grounded. Vehicles were stranded county-wide. I recall my little Nissan Sentra's 13" tires could not get me out of my parents' neighborhood for 3 days. When I was able to gain access to the main roads, my tires caught a groove of frozen slush along Interstate 65 near Fern Valley Road that propelled me along a rising ramp toward a bank of snow and slush at least 6 feet high. I thought I was Bo Duke about to leap over a creek with that supercharged Dodge Charger called the General Lee. Inevitably, my car did not fare that well as I sat atop the bank. Needless to say, I did not feel like I was on top of the world at that very moment, either.
The coldest temperatures on record happened by the 19th. Shelbyville, KY's -37 degrees and New Whiteland, IN's -36 degrees were the coldest readings ever for their respective states.
There are so many images related to that event that I would absolutely overwhelm the blog page if I included them. Here are a few sites that are available....
http://www.courier-journal.com/html/2012/10/global-warming/images/1994snow2.jpg
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/lmk/lexington_cli_pdf/Snowiest_Days_and_Deepest_Snow_Depths.pdf
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/?n=toptencoldevents
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/soo/sclimo/evt_jan171994.php
http://www.nwas.org/meetings/abstracts/display.php?id=206
MS
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