Flash Flood, Pike
- When
- May 15, 6:00 PM EST to 11:55 PM EST
- Where
- Pike County, Varney
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 37.469, -82.396 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Kentucky, May 15, 1996
Flash flooding developed after up to 3 inches of rain fell. Rainfall rates of 1 inch in 30 minutes were reported.
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
- $50,000
- 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 JKL wrote it up.
Flash flooding developed after up to 3 inches of rain fell. Rainfall rates of 1 inch in 30 minutes were reported. Areas affected included Varney, Meta, Gulnare, Dorton, Greasy Creek, Pikeville, Marrowbone, Blackberry, Justiceville, and Woodman. Numerous roads were flooded across the county, and evacuations were required in the Blackberry area. The Varney Elementary School, which had suffered serious flood damage on May 5, was again flooded.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 15 to 16, 1996
- Flood in Ohio, May 15 to 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 15 to 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 15 to 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 15 to 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 15 to 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 15 to 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 15 to 16, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Indiana, May 15, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Kentucky, May 15, 1996
- Flash Flood in Kentucky, May 15 to 16, 1996
- Flash Flood in West Virginia, May 15 to 16, 1996
More
Every storm in Kentucky in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, May 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: 5553921.