Winter Storm of ’94 | Remembering the snowiest day in Louisville ever recorded
Thirty years ago, Kentuckiana was buried under feet of snow -- a delight to many and a massive headache that nearly pushed UPS out of Louisville.
It’s hard to imagine the last time Louisville saw more than a few inches of snow at one time, let alone the Metro completely shutting down due to winter weather.
Last year was Louisville’s warmest and least snowy year as just 1.3 inches of snow fell in 2023. Most of that snow fell in January, with 0.1 inches coming in December.
But 30 years ago, on Jan. 17, 1994, Louisville was quite literally buried in snow. It was both a stunning winter wonderland and a massive headache.
In fact, so much snow fell across the Metro that many residents were worried no one outside of Kentuckiana would believe them if they recalled what happened.
So many people reached out for WHAS11's extensive coverage of the snowstorm that year, the station created an hour-long special VHS tape for sale. The proceeds helped benefit the Crusade for Children.
You can now watch that special coverage below on YouTube!
Winter Storm of '94 What happened?
On Jan. 16, 1994, a winter storm was brewing over Kentuckiana and as the day turned to night, the rain turned to snow, followed by days of bitter cold.
By midnight on Jan. 17, the average snowfall was about 3 inches per hour. In total, nearly 16 inches of snow blanketed Louisville, but some areas of Kentuckiana saw much more.
To this day, it still holds the city's record for the most snowfall in a single day.
Schools and businesses were shut down for nearly a week and flights were grounded at the airports.
Residents woke up to find their cars buried in snow. Even if you were able to free your vehicle, it didn’t matter, you still weren’t going anywhere.
Roads were impassable for days. The only way to get around the city was by walking through the snow.
Former Kentucky Gov. Brereton Jones even shut down the interstates so road crews could clear the wintry mess.
While children enjoyed snowball fights in their neighborhood, the winter storm tested the limits of Kentuckiana.
Water mains broke across Louisville, ice brought down powerlines causing fires, and space heaters were overworked to the point of bursting into flames inside people’s homes.
The winter storm cost businesses millions of dollars across the region.
In fact, UPS, which had just made a huge investment in Louisville’s airport, nearly pulled out of the region due to the shutdown.
Louisville broke the record for an all-time low temperature of -22 degrees and Shelbyville set Kentucky's record low temperature at -37 degrees.
It was so cold, even the Ohio River froze causing flooding in some parts of Louisville.
The storm forced city and state leaders to completely restructure how to handle winter weather.
Defining moments 'Neighbor helping neighbor'
Anchor Doug Proffitt and former anchor Rachel Platt helmed WHAS11's coverage of the winter storm.
For hours on end, they provided a critical service to the community at a time when the internet and social media didn't exist.
The pair read notes of people's wants and needs on-air and connected them with others in the community.
"Rachel and I would say, 'So-and-So has been in their house now for 48 hours without any heat and they need somebody in an SUV to go get them. We can connect you with them, you know, give us a call,'" Proffitt recalled. "Suddenly you would see 10 people show up at this person's house and rescue them."
Platt remembered how the winter storm was a defining moment in Louisville where the community shined.
"When truckers and motorists were stranded on the interstate, people were coming from their homes in those areas," Platt said. "I remember in southern Indiana, people were walking out to give them water, food to make sure they were OK and checking on them."
"There was a young girl who needed a transplant. People started shoveling a lot so a helicopter could get in so she could go and get that transplant," Platt added.
It was one of the most inspirational stories to come out of the winter storm and touched the hearts of many, so much so, that the powerful moment will be the focus of a feature film set to be released next month.
"It was a sense of community, I felt, and neighbor helping neighbor at its best," Platt said.
Lessons Learned Coming to a halt
In the aftermath of the winter storm, Louisville was paralyzed. The city simply wasn't prepared for that much snow in such a short amount of time.
Former Mayor Jerry Abramson said it was difficult to get the city moving again.
"All of a sudden, you're called on to provide the services that people need in terms of access to roads, access to the hospitals, access to the dialysis clinics, access to the schools," he said. "Literally, the community came to a halt."
It was days before Louisville was able to unbury itself and get things moving again, by which point the community was frustrated, stir crazy and cold.
"We didn't have the kind of equipment and the kind of game plan to respond to 16 inches of snow and 22-below zero," Abramson said.
The former mayor remembered receiving a phone call from the U.S. Transportation Secretary, demanding answers. The airport was closed, I-65 was shutdown -- two major economic thoroughfares shuttered.
UPS, the city's largest employer, was livid to say the least.
"Once you shut down 65, even if people could get out, they couldn't get to UPS for overnight deliveries and second day deliveries," he said. "They came to my office and said, 'Look if you're not going to invest to be prepared for the next snowstorm like this, we're leaving.'"
Louisville took the warning to heart and learned several lessons after the storm. Abramson first visited cities in northern states to learn how they regularly dealt with several inches of snow.
The city bought plows for garbage trucks, brine was introduced to Louisville, and street clearing plans were made for main thoroughfares and residential areas.
Is Louisville ready for the next winter storm?
Although Kentuckiana hasn't seen such a crippling snow storm since 1994, the question remains: is Louisville ready for the next storm?
"We're better placed," Abramson said. "We've got better equipment, we'll be more quick to respond, but that was an incredibly unique situation."
Former WHAS11 anchor Rachel Platt agreed.
"I think we would be better off," she said. "Would we still have problems? Yes. But I don't think we would be shut down to the extent that we were."
In preparation for this week's latest bout of winter weather, current Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city's snow team includes more than 200 workers working around the clock to treat roadways with brine and more than 38,000 tons of salt.
The National Weather Service of Louisville's Meteorologist-in-Charge John Gordon said although each winter is different, the city is much better prepared than it was in 1994.
"We have so many more tools, we would have done a lot better job," he said. "What are our lessons? Be more aggressive with the new data using new tools and put out a new forecast -- and keep updating it, not waiting for 12 hours. Our mantra right now is: if it's wrong, fix it and keep updating it."
What you remember Viewer stories, photos
Out of the bitter cold and turmoil, dozens of inspirational and humorous stories can be found years later.
"I went out of office, and I'm lying in bed with my wife, one late early morning around one, two o'clock in the morning," Abramson recalled, laughing. "And I hear sleet on the roof. I jumped up and I turned to my wife and she says to me, 'You're not the mayor. It's not your problem any longer.'"
Proffitt remembers how he crashed his wife's car in the snow while trying to make it to the station on the first day of the storm. He was late getting on air the first morning of the station's extensive coverage.
He had to signal for another driver to pick him up and drive him to the station, offering him $50.
At one point, Proffitt called his wife during a break and Platt told him to put her on the air because they needed a phone call.
WHAS11 viewers share their photos from 1994's winter storm
"[My wife] knew we were on the air, but then she started arguing with me and giving me a little heck because she was stranded at home with no power," he said.
"Well, you took the car," Platt laughed.
"She started complaining, and Rachel had to say on the air, 'Now you two need to settle this off the air," Proffitt continued.
"So as you could say, there was some tension during that time," Platt joked, pointing to Proffitt's ring finger. "He's still married, so it all worked out!"
Everyone who lived in Kentuckiana in 1994 has a story to tell about that infamous winter storm.
In the days leading up to the 30th anniversary, we asked you to share your photos and memories with us. Here's what you remember:
Have a photo or memory of the Winter Storm of 1994 you'd like to share? Send us an email by clicking here.
We'll be including additional stories and photos until 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 19.
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