Flood, Ballard
- When
- May 7, 12:01 AM CST to May 29, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Ballard forecast zone
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Coordinates
- 37.058, -88.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in Kentucky, May 7 to 29, 1996
The Ohio River rose above flood stage at Paducah on May 7 and did not return below flood stage until May 29. 1 feet on May 13, several feet above the flood stage of 39 feet.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
- $30,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 Ohio River rose above flood stage at Paducah on May 7 and did not return below flood stage until May 29. It crested at 44.1 feet on May 13, several feet above the flood stage of 39 feet. Most of the damage was due to submerged cropland. Minor property damage resulted from flooded roads and parks. About 85 percent of the Ballard County Wildlife Management Area was inaccessible due to flooded access roads.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, McCracken
- When
- May 7, 12:01 AM CST to May 29, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- McCracken forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.054, -88.713 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Crittenden
- When
- May 7, 12:01 AM CST to May 29, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Crittenden forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.353, -88.097 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Livingston
- When
- May 7, 12:01 AM CST to May 29, 3:00 PM CST
- Where
- Livingston forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.210, -88.354 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado in Wyoming, May 7, 1996
- Flash Flood in Missouri, May 7, 1996
- Hail in Alabama, May 7, 1996
- Hail in Georgia, May 7, 1996
- Cold in New York, May 7, 1996
- High Wind in Alaska, May 7, 1996
- High Wind in Alaska, May 7 to 8, 1996
- Hail in Kansas, May 7, 1996
- Flood in Missouri, May 7 to 12, 1996
- Flood in Missouri, May 7 to 17, 1996
- Hail in Kansas, May 7, 1996
- Hail in Kansas, May 7, 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: 5554969, 5554970, 5554971, 5554972.