Flash Flood, Pike
- When
- May 5, 7:15 PM EST to 10:30 PM EST
- Where
- Pike County, Belfry
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Coordinates
- 37.469, -82.396 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Kentucky, May 5, 1996
Widespread flash flooding developed across part of northern and eastern Pike County. Areas especially hard hit extended from north of Pikeville southeast to Phelps, and included Big Creek, Brushy Creek, Belfry, Blackberry, Phelps, and Freeburn.
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
- $1.0 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 JKL wrote it up.
Widespread flash flooding developed across part of northern and eastern Pike County. Areas especially hard hit extended from north of Pikeville southeast to Phelps, and included Big Creek, Brushy Creek, Belfry, Blackberry, Phelps, and Freeburn. Up to two and one half inches of rain was reported. Forty to fifty bridges were washed out, numerous roads were flooded, and automobiles were washed down creeks. The Varney Elementary School suffered serious flood damage.
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 Missouri, May 5, 1996
- Tornado in Kentucky, May 5, 1996
- Flash Flood in Kentucky, May 5, 1996
- Heavy Rain in West Virginia, May 5, 1996
- Tornado in Missouri, May 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, May 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Kentucky, May 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, May 5, 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: 5553917.