Thursday’s record low is a memorable one for Lexington. On January 24, 1963 the all-time coldest temperature in Lexington weather history was records; 21 degrees below zero. This comes on the heels of another weather record, the greatest 24-hour temperature drop. From midnight on January 23rd to midnight the following day the temperature fell 64 degrees from 44° to 20 below.
Here are some details on the historic weather event in late January 1963 from a blurb on the Louisville National Weather Service office’s site. On the night of January 18th a very strong cold front made its way across the Midwest and through much of the southeastern US. Behind the front a very cold, Arctic air mass dipped southeast, and sat across southwestern Kentucky. The frigid air lingered for six days. The lowest temperature of -34° was recorded in Bonnieville, Hart County, Kentucky. This is not Kentucky’s all-time coldest temperature. Shelbyville holds that record. On January 19, 1994 the temperature fell to -37°.
