3,183 first-hand accounts of flood events in Kentucky, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
A strong storm system and associated cold front approached eastern Kentucky on Easter Sunday, with rainfall beginning during the afternoon. As the low pressure system intensified and moved into the Ohio Valley during the evening of the 12th, wind speeds began to drastically…
Read the full account →During a time without any major weather systems moving through the region, a moist atmosphere with differential heating and remaining outflows from earlier thunderstorms was enough for thunderstorms and heavy rain to develop across central Kentucky.
Read the full account →During a time without any major weather systems moving through the region, a moist atmosphere with differential heating and remaining outflows from earlier thunderstorms was enough for thunderstorms and heavy rain to develop across central Kentucky.
Read the full account →During a time without any major weather systems moving through the region, a moist atmosphere with differential heating and remaining outflows from earlier thunderstorms was enough for thunderstorms and heavy rain to develop across central Kentucky.
Read the full account →Periods of rain worked back into eastern Kentucky early on February 20 as a warm frontal boundary lifted north across the Commonwealth. A cold front brought additional rainfall through the afternoon and evening, before drier conditions worked into eastern Kentucky during the…
Read the full account →During this period, upper high pressure remained over the southern United States. At the surface, a couple of cold fronts, riding along upper flow, passed from west to east near the Ohio River.
Read the full account →A prolonged line of thunderstorms developed on the evening of July 22nd near the Ohio River, slowly propagating southward late in the evening and after midnight into the 23rd.
Read the full account →A low pressure system strengthened as it moved northeast into the Great Lakes region. A large area of showers and thunderstorms associated with a warm front moved across the region during the afternoon of the 23rd, producing heavy rain and some flash flooding.
Read the full account →Major flooding of the lower Ohio River occurred in mid March. The crest near 52 feet at Paducah was the highest since about 1950, and one of the worst floods on record. It was still well below the record 60-foot crest in the Flood of 1937.
Read the full account →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.
Read the full account →Isolated showers and thunderstorms developed late this afternoon into this evening. While these were overall weaker than those that occurred over the previous day or two in this persistent summer-like pattern, the slow movement of the storms led to flash flooding issues in Rowan…
Read the full account →A slow moving low pressure system drifted across the Ohio Valley on May 18 and 19, bringing several rounds of heavy rain to the eastern reaches of the Commonwealth.
Read the full account →Beginning on February 3rd, numerous rounds of rainfall began to impact eastern Kentucky. This continued through February 7th, highlighted by heavy rainfall from the evening of February 5th through the first half of February 6th.
Read the full account →A stalled frontal boundary across the area brought several rounds of showers and thunderstorms to the lower Ohio Valley April 2nd and 3rd. Scattered thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and early evening hours April 2nd, resulting in large hail and damaging winds.
Read the full account →On the second day of heavy rain across central Kentucky, a quasi-stationary boundary was draped across the area. Training storms across south central KY in the morning resulted in significant flash flooding.
Read the full account →A weak disturbance crossed through the Ohio Valley on the evening of April 28th. Ahead of this disturbance, abnormally warm temperatures coupled with high moisture content were in place to aid in shower and thunderstorm develop that evening.
Read the full account →A strong low pressure system was present over the Great Lakes region to start the day on July 29th. From this extended a cold front to the southwest.
Read the full account →A prolonged period of light to moderate rain led to flooding across portions of eastern Kentucky, particularly southeastern Kentucky, beginning during the overnight hours of Friday, February 9 into Saturday, February 10, 2018.
Read the full account →Several rounds of heavy rain sent the Ohio River above flood stage. February monthly precipitation was 4 to 7 inches above normal, with monthly totals of 8 to 10 inches common. This was greater than 200 percent of normal.
Read the full account →Significant flash flooding developed across portions of eastern Kentucky during the late afternoon and evening hours of August 22nd into the early morning hours of August 23rd.
Read the full account →Severe thunderstorms moved across the region on the evening of March 2. A long-track supercell thunderstorm crossed the Mississippi River from the Cairo, IL area.
Read the full account →Isolated showers and thunderstorms developed late this afternoon into this evening. While these were overall weaker than those that occurred over the previous day or two in this persistent summer-like pattern, the slow movement of the storms led to flash flooding issues in Rowan…
Read the full account →Scattered storms were ongoing across portions of eastern Kentucky during the evening hours on July 26. Without much in the way of steering winds aloft, these storms had very little storm motion, and were capable of producing heavy rainfall over isolated areas throughout their…
Read the full account →Deep moisture anchored across east Kentucky, combined with a stalled frontal boundary, then a cold front, led to several rounds of heavy rain from the evening of September 12th through the early afternoon hours on September 13th.
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