Lexington Power Outages Caused by Weather
Events
March 3, 2023 - High Wind
High winds blew off part of the roof of the terminal at Blue Grass Field. The fragments of the roof ended up striking the tower, and the airport also lost power. Scattered tree and power line damage was also observed across Fayette County. Multiple wind gusts over 60 mph were observed, with the peak gust reaching 72 mph at Kentucky Mesonet site LXGN.
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December 23, 2022 - Winter Storm
Snowfall of 1-2 inch accumulated with blowing snow and strong wind gusts of 30-40 mph. Rapidly falling temperatures resulted in slick roads and significant travel impacts. Treacherous travel conditions were noted throughout December 23rd, a busy holiday travel day. Wind chills of -25 were observed on the morning of the 23rd. Extreme cold strained the power grid and rolling blackouts were implemented by utility companies.
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July 6, 2022 - Thunderstorm Wind
A tree and power lines were down on Hamilton Park.
Lexington - Lexington
May 3, 2022 - Thunderstorm Wind
A large tree was blown down, causing damage to a vehicle and power lines near the University of Kentucky campus.
Lexington - Lexington
June 21, 2021 - Thunderstorm Wind
A tree fell on power lines.
Lexington - Lexington
Episodes
February 9, 2023
A strong low pressure system moved southwest to northeast from the mid-Mississippi valley into the Great Lakes during the day on February 9th, with the low gradually occluding and weakening through the day. Despite the weakening trend, the pressure gradient was still very strong, and as clouds cleared following the passage of a cold front, strong winds were able to mix down to the surface across central Kentucky during the late morning and afternoon hours. There were multiple measured wind gusts of greater than 50 mph, with isolated stronger wind gusts of up to 71 mph in Franklin County. The strong non-thunderstorm wind gusts also led to scattered tree and power line damage across central Kentucky, which caused localized power outages.
December 23, 2022
An amazing cold front barged through central Kentucky during the evening of December 22nd. The front caused temperatures to crash 50 degrees in 12 hours, from the 40s on the afternoon of the 22nd to subzero readings the following morning. Light rain ahead of the front quickly changed to light snow behind it with 1 to 3 inches falling in many locations. A band of 4 to 5 inches of snow developed from Salem, Indiana to Frankfort, Kentucky. The snow and plunging temperatures were accompanied by wind gusts to 40 mph and wind chills down to 30 degrees below zero, some of the coldest wind chills seen in 25 years. Daytime readings on the 23rd did not get out of the single digits. Near blizzard conditions were observed during the snowfall with visibility limited to a half mile. People were urged to avoid travel on one of the busiest holiday travel days of the year. Numerous crashes and closures were reported on state highways due to the snow and extreme cold temperatures. The extreme cold also resulted in scattered power outages and rolling blackouts in parts of the area.
February 3, 2022
An arctic front pushed south across central Kentucky on Thursday, February 3, 2022. Southerly flow and a layer of warm air aloft combined with falling surface temperatures to produce an impactful winter storm with a variety of precipitation types. Significant freezing rain and sleet accumulations caused travel impacts, some tree damage, and power outages in some portions of central Kentucky.
July 15, 2019
On July 14th, as the remains of Hurricane Barry advanced up the Mississippi River Valley, an outer boundary of storms moved northward over the Ohio River Valley. This caused localized tree and power line damage north of Lexington, Kentucky. ||On July 15th, the circulation that was Barry entered central Kentucky, and over the next few days, it produced heavy rainfall rates and damaging winds. This caused isolated flooding and tree damage.
November 14, 2018
A cold air mass already in place combined with an anomalous low pressure system to produce an early season freezing rain event across central Kentucky and southern Indiana. Many locations received between a tenth and a quarter of an inch of ice accumulating on trees/shrubs and other elevated surfaces. Warm ground temperatures kept most roads ice free, though some bridges had slick spots. ||The ice on the trees, many of which still had leaves that helped to weigh them down, caused several limbs/branches to snap and some trees to fall. There were many reports of power flashes overnight as branches hit transformers. At the peak of the event, over 100,000 customers were without power in the region. One utility company serving much of central Kentucky reported that it was one of the top 10 costliest outages in it's history.
Power Outage FAQs
What is Power Outage?
Power outage (also called a power cut, a power blackout, power failure or a blackout) is a short-term or a long-term loss of the electric power to a particular area.
What Causes Power Outages?
- Severe weather (high winds, lightning, winter storms, heat waves, rain or flooding can cause damage to power lines or equipment);
- Other damage to electric transmission lines (vehicle accidents, trees, and animals can cause damage to power lines or equipment);
- Repairing, maintenance or upgrades on power lines and equipment.
What are the Top Outage Safety Tips?
- Stay away from the downed power lines, park vehicles in protected areas;
- Unplug appliances and electronics, limit cell phone use to conserve battery life;
- Use portable generators outdoors only, well away from open windows and doors;
- Pack perishable foods into a cooler, keep refrigerator and freezer doors shut as much as possible.
