3,183 first-hand accounts of flood events in Kentucky, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
On September 18, 2004 at approximately 10:47 pm EST, a 20 year old man drowned while attempting to drive his vehicle through flood waters on Highway 459, near the junction of Bull Run road, 5 miles southwest of Barbourville. The road was closed at the time of the incident.
Read the full account →A slow-moving cold front passed across the region between the 20th and 22nd. Several upper level disturbances moved north-northeast along the front, touching off numerous showers and thunderstorms.
Read the full account →On the night of April 2nd, 2025, a cold front approached the lower Ohio Valley. Along and ahead of the cold front, numerous supercells developed over southern Illinois and western Kentucky.
Read the full account →Significant flash flooding occurred over west Kentucky, as anomalously high amounts of low-level moisture streamed northward over a warm front that became stationary along the Tennessee border.
Read the full account →Significant flash flooding occurred over west Kentucky, as anomalously high amounts of low-level moisture streamed northward over a warm front that became stationary along the Tennessee border.
Read the full account →During the overnight and early morning hours of Monday, June 20th, numerous strong to severe thunderstorms wreaked havoc on portions of eastern KY. Between 2 and 5 am EDT, numerous trees were blown across Laurel, Bell, Knox, and Whitley counties.
Read the full account →On May 8th and 9th, 2024, a quasi-stationary frontal boundary was draped from west to east across the Ohio Valley. Storms from the previous evening across southern Indiana and north central Kentucky had helped to stabilized the environment in those locations, though areas in…
Read the full account →On Saturday, November 26th, a deep full latitude trough across the Central Plains slowly moved east toward the Lower Ohio Valley. Light to moderate rain begin across central Kentucky around midnight Sunday morning and continued without interruption through late Monday as the…
Read the full account →A stalled cold front over the Mississippi Valley spawned thunderstorms producing heavy rain from northern Mississippi through middle Tennessee and central Kentucky into southern Indiana.
Read the full account →Northwest flow in the mid- and upper-levels of the atmosphere placed central Kentucky and southern Indiana on the edge of a ring of fire type pattern for several days at the end of July 2023.
Read the full account →A strong storm system moved through the Ohio Valley beginning late in the evening on February 15th and continuing through much of the day on February 16th.
Read the full account →A stalled cold front over the Mississippi Valley spawned thunderstorms producing heavy rain from northern Mississippi through middle Tennessee and central Kentucky into southern Indiana.
Read the full account →A warm front moved slowly north across western Kentucky during the afternoon. Large clusters of thunderstorms produced very heavy rain. A cold front moved southeast into the Lower Ohio Valley during the night, preceded by more thunderstorms.
Read the full account →A stalled cold front over the Mississippi Valley spawned thunderstorms producing heavy rain from northern Mississippi through middle Tennessee and central Kentucky into southern Indiana.
Read the full account →A stalled cold front over the Mississippi Valley spawned thunderstorms producing heavy rain from northern Mississippi through middle Tennessee and central Kentucky into southern Indiana.
Read the full account →Heavy rain occurred in portions of northeast Kentucky on May 14, leading to swollen creeks and streams across the area. While no flash flood reports were received, there was a fatality reported in Rowan County.
Read the full account →Between July 25th and July 30th, 2022, several complexes of training thunderstorms developed south of I-64 and brought heavy rain, deadly flash flooding, and devastating river flooding to eastern Kentucky and central Appalachia.
Read the full account →A couple of distinct rounds of heavy rain during late February and mid-March caused minor flooding along the Ohio and Green Rivers. Between March 14th and 18th, copious amounts of rain fell, with totals ranging from 1 to 2 inches.
Read the full account →Three to 4 inches of rain caused stream flooding. A 24 year oldwoman drowned in Bens Run. She fell into the creek while tryingto cross a wooden bridge between her home and Route 986. The approach to the bridge had been washed away and she did notrealize that in the dark.
Read the full account →A warm front over the lower Ohio Valley produced numerous training thunderstorms over north central Kentucky during the morning and early afternoon. A cold front brought more heavy rain to north central and east central Kentucky during the afternoon and evening.
Read the full account →Rains of 1.5 to 2.5 inches fell in an interval of 12 hours or less. Several streams overflowed onto roads. Homes in the Westwood area of Boyd County had some basement flooding from Hoods Creek. Otherwise, there was a minimum of property damage.
Read the full account →Rains of 1.5 to 2.5 inches fell in an interval of 12 hours or less. Several streams overflowed onto roads. Homes in the Westwood area of Boyd County had some basement flooding from Hoods Creek. Otherwise, there was a minimum of property damage.
Read the full account →Strong southern winds brought warm temperatures and plenty of moisture into an environment of strong wind shear ahead of an advancing cold front.
Read the full account →Moderate to major river flooding subsided in March. The rainy weather pattern that dominated January and February became less active in March. The winter of 2018-19 ended up being the fourth wettest winter on record at Paducah, where records go back to 1937.
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