If You Think Late May Is Too Late for Kentucky Snow, Think Again

It feels like 2025 has been a live-action meteorology textbook. Within the first week of the year, portions of Kentucky received between six and 12 inches of snow. That's the blue area of this map.

In February, on the heels of a major flooding event, western Kentucky bore the brunt of a system that swooped in and dumped anywhere from two to seven inches of snow.

Then March came, and right smack dab in the middle of the month, historic hail brutalized Owensboro. In all my time on this planet, I had never seen hail like that in my hometown. It was crazy.

Of course, April and May lived up to their billing as prime months for severe weather. During the first half of spring, it seems we barely went a week without a storm system that carried with it major tornado threats.

Read More: Historic Twister Surge Hits Western Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois

Late May Snow in Kentucky

Well, how does a little snow in late May sound? Don't freak out; it's not happening. But in the Commonwealth, it's not unheard of. And before you start searching your memory banks, I know, for a fact, you don't remember it because it happened in 1894. Can you imagine a three-to-six-inch snowfall on May 20th? Perish the thought, right? Well, folks in Lexington, Harrodsburg, and Mount Sterling could not perish that thought because there it was, for all to see...and enjoy?

In the much more recent past, I do remember a rare occurrence on Kentucky Derby Day 1989. I almost called it a "snowfall" because that's how I've always remembered it. But it was just sleet. Yeah, "just." And it was very little sleet that fell and didn't amount to much of anything.

But who heads to the Kentucky Derby all prepped for weather that cold? You had to do it that day. Would you like some hot cocoa with your mint julep? Hmm, that actually sounds good.