Flash Flood, Boyd
- When
- July 31, 2:15 AM EST to 6:30 AM EST
- Where
- Boyd County, Countywide
- Property damage
- $3.0 million
- Coordinates
- 38.360, -82.688 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Kentucky, July 31, 1996
Rainfall of 2 to 4 inches fell in less than 6 hours duringthe late night and predawn hours across northern Carter,Greenup, and Boyd Counties. 9 inches.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- $3.0 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 RLX wrote it up.
Rainfall of 2 to 4 inches fell in less than 6 hours duringthe late night and predawn hours across northern Carter,Greenup, and Boyd Counties. Greenup Lock and Dam measured 3 inches, while Ashland had 3.9 inches. An unofficialreport of 6 inches was received from Argillite. The worstflooding was in the populated area from Westwood of BoydCounty on west, to the Bellefonte, Russell, Flatwoods region ofGreenup County. Hood, Little Hood, and Culp Creeks weresome of the streams involved. In Boyd County, 19 single familyhomes had major damage, while 13 homes were destroyed. Threemobile homes were destroyed. In Greenup County, 21 businesseswere damaged, 3 homes destroyed, and 3 homes with majordamage. Contents of a least 2 churches were damaged.Some people had to be evacuated by boat, as water surroundedtheir homes. One family awoke to the sound of one of theirvehicles bumping up against their mobile home. A few feetof water had aleady surrounded their home. Luckily,no one was killed or injuried. The Small BusinessAdministration did provide some federal relief money.
The radar
The Charleston,WV radar (KRLX), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:17 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail in Wyoming, July 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in Kentucky, July 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, July 31, 1996
- Tornado in Colorado, July 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, July 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in Ohio, July 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, July 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in Kentucky, July 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, July 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, July 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, July 31, 1996
- Flash Flood in Tennessee, July 31, 1996
More
Every storm in Kentucky in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, July 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: 5565226.