Kentucky, 1997

Flash Flood in Kentucky, March 1, 1997

March 1, 1997 · NWS PAH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A slow-moving area of thunderstorms produced 2 to 4 inches of rain within a few hours. This resulted in flooding of several roads, along with rapid rises in streams and creeks.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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 PAH wrote it up.

A slow-moving area of thunderstorms produced 2 to 4 inches of rain within a few hours. This resulted in flooding of several roads, along with rapid rises in streams and creeks. A housing complex in Benton was evacuated when a nearby creek flooded.

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:31 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Marshall

When
March 1, 9:30 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, Benton
Coordinates
36.884, -88.329 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Kentucky in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, March 1997

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: 5595916.