Drought, Fulton
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Fulton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.554, -89.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought in Kentucky, August 15 to 31, 1996
The drought severity index showed extreme drought conditions over much of western Kentucky during the last week of August. The National Weather Service office in Paducah recorded the driest August ever.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 22 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 22
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.
The drought severity index showed extreme drought conditions over much of western Kentucky during the last week of August. The National Weather Service office in Paducah recorded the driest August ever. August of 1996 was the second driest month since 1962. Only 0.11 inches fell in the rain gage at Paducah. River levels fell below normal, but no serious navigation problems were reported.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
22 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Drought, Hickman
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Hickman forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.678, -88.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Carlisle
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Carlisle forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.853, -88.971 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Ballard
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Ballard forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.058, -88.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, McCracken
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- McCracken forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.054, -88.713 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Graves
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Graves forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.723, -88.651 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Livingston
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Livingston forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.210, -88.354 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Marshall
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Marshall forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.884, -88.329 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Calloway
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Calloway forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.621, -88.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Crittenden
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Crittenden forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.353, -88.097 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Lyon
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lyon forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.019, -88.083 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Trigg
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Trigg forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.806, -87.873 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Caldwell
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Caldwell forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.145, -87.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Union
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Union forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.659, -87.945 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Webster
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Webster forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.518, -87.683 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Hopkins
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Hopkins forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.309, -87.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Christian
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Christian forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.894, -87.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Henderson
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Henderson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.796, -87.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Daviess
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Daviess forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.732, -87.087 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, McLean
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- McLean forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.529, -87.264 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Muhlenberg
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Muhlenberg forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.216, -87.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Drought, Todd
- When
- August 15, 2:00 AM CST to August 31, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Todd forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.836, -87.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Drought
- A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in California, August 15, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, August 15, 1996
- Flash Flood in Nebraska, August 15, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Ohio, August 15, 1996
- Hail in Wyoming, August 15, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, August 15, 1996
- Lightning Strike in West Virginia, August 15, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, August 15, 1996
- Drought in Missouri, August 15 to 31, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, August 15, 1996
- Heavy Rain in Puerto Rico, August 15 to 16, 1996
- Damaging Wind in New York, August 15, 1996
More
Every storm in Kentucky in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, August 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5568000, 5568001, 5568002, 5568003, 5568004, 5568005, 5568006, 5568007, 5568008, 5568009, 5568010, 5568011, 5568012, 5568013, 5568014, 5568015, 5568016, 5568017, 5568161, 5568162, 5568163, 5568164.