3,183 first-hand accounts of flood events in Kentucky, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
Strong instability, combined with weak winds aloft, led to the development of scattered strong thunderstorms across central Kentucky during the late afternoon and evening hours. The strongest storms produced marginally severe hail and isolated damaging wind gusts.
Read the full account →Scattered thunderstorms developed during the late evening on August 7th, centered over the Kentucky Bluegrass Region. The slow movement of these storms, coupled with a tropical environment in which precipitable water values exceeded 2 inches, led to several very localized…
Read the full account →Scattered thunderstorms developed during the late evening on August 7th, centered over the Kentucky Bluegrass Region. The slow movement of these storms, coupled with a tropical environment in which precipitable water values exceeded 2 inches, led to several very localized…
Read the full account →From April 18 to 19, most of southeast Kentucky received 1 to 3 inches of rain, but some spots received 3 to 5 inches. The heavy rain resulted in widespread flash flooding, small stream flooding, and eventually river flooding.
Read the full account →Severe thunderstorms on the evening of April 16 produced wind damage, hail, and tornadoes. At Windy in Wayne County, a barn was damaged by thunderstorm winds, and a spotter south of Brodhead in Rockcastle County estimated wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph.
Read the full account →Multiple thunderstorms with heavy rain moved across Jefferson and Bullitt counties through the late afternoon hours. In Jefferson county, Interstate 65 was flooded near downtown Louisville, and many roads were closed due to high water.
Read the full account →A slow-moving band of thunderstorms with torrential downpours affected most of the Pennyrile region of West Kentucky. Storms earlier in the day had already saturated the ground, and this additional rain brought rainfall totals up to 5.66 inches at Princeton, 4.94 inches at…
Read the full account →A low pressure system moved from Louisiana on the morning of April 14th, to Eastern Kentucky later that evening. Once in Eastern Kentucky, the low pressure system slowed its movement considerably, as the system strengthened.
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 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 long-lived bow echo that had produced widespread wind damage over southern Illinois moved east into Kentucky during the late morning hours. As it moved east, the system encountered a strengthening low-level jet across the Ohio Valley, which helped modify the motion of the…
Read the full account →A long-lived bow echo that had produced widespread wind damage over southern Illinois moved east into Kentucky during the late morning hours. As it moved east, the system encountered a strengthening low-level jet across the Ohio Valley, which helped modify the motion of the…
Read the full account →A surface cold front extended from the Chicago area southwestward across the eastern fringes of the St. Louis metro area to a weak low pressure center over southeast Missouri.
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 →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 →Well south of a frontal boundary, a moist and unstable air mass resided over the Ohio Valley. The ground was already wetter than normal from previous rains. A southwest and west wind along with daytime heating formed showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon of the 20th.
Read the full account →Repeated heavy rains from a succession of March-like storm systems caused the Ohio River to rise above flood stage late in the month. At Smithland, where flood stage is 40 feet, the river crested at 42.7 feet on the morning of the 27th.
Read the full account →Moderate to major flooding of the Ohio River occurred. States of emergency were declared in McCracken, Livingston, Union, and Henderson Counties. Floodfighting activities included the construction of temporary sandbag levees.
Read the full account →Increasing moisture quickly moved up the Ohio River Valley on the morning of the 3rd into a developing east to west frontal zone. The first of several thunderstorm complexes moved from west to east across northeast Kentucky around midday on the 3rd.
Read the full account →A surface cold front extended from the Chicago area southwestward across the eastern fringes of the St. Louis metro area to a weak low pressure center over southeast Missouri.
Read the full account →A surface cold front extended from the Chicago area southwestward across the eastern fringes of the St. Louis metro area to a weak low pressure center over southeast Missouri.
Read the full account →A surface cold front extended from the Chicago area southwestward across the eastern fringes of the St. Louis metro area to a weak low pressure center over southeast Missouri.
Read the full account →A surface cold front extended from the Chicago area southwestward across the eastern fringes of the St. Louis metro area to a weak low pressure center over southeast Missouri.
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