This Might Be the Worst Thanksgiving Snowstorm in Kentucky History

Those of us who live here are quite familiar with the old saying about Ohio Valley weather. "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes."

Well, you and I have both been involved in situations where it would have been a massive blessing if things had changed in "five minutes." Christmas 2004 anyone? I was without a car for about 16 hours because I tried to park outside my building and got it stuck in a snow bank that didn't LOOK like a snow bank. Hancock County recorded 20 inches of snow from that storm. There are also the huge winter storms in 1977, 1978, and 1994. And I'm certain there are others I'm not remembering. Yeah, storms like those wrapping up in "five minutes" would have been cause for celebration.

The Worst Thanksgiving 'Winter' Storm in Kentucky's History?

But those were all WINTER storms. What do you do when you're slammed like that a good month before winter even officially begins? The folks in Kentucky had to find out 73 years go. It's known as the Great Appalachian Snowstorm of 1950, and it more than earned the moniker.

Ravaging mostly eastern Kentucky, the storm dumped up to 15 inches on the Commonwealth, with Ashland getting the unfortunate top score.

73 Years Ago, the Weather Maps Were Handwritten

And take a look at this vintage weather map FROM 1950--loooong before any type of computer was put into service.

Around here, we have had much rougher weather than the calendar would indicate we should have. I'm thinking about the November 12th snowstorm in 2022, the tornado outbreak in December 2021, and the bone-chilling Arctic deep-freeze of 2022.

Considering the nice week we're currently enjoying, it's hard to imagine putting your Thanksgiving celebration on hold in order to dig out from massive snow drifts. But more than seven decades ago, eastern Kentuckians really had no choice.