Kentucky, 1997

Flash Flood in Kentucky, March 1, 1997

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

Numerous thunderstorms during a 24 hour period produced cumulative rainfall totals near 5 inches. Water was 5 to 6 feet over roadways near the Clarks River.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
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 PAH wrote it up.

Numerous thunderstorms during a 24 hour period produced cumulative rainfall totals near 5 inches. Water was 5 to 6 feet over roadways near the Clarks River. A few mobile homes and a couple of vehicles were flooded. A parking lot at Murray-Calloway County Hospital was flooded with 1 to 3 feet of water. About an inch of water entered the medical labs. Emergency personnel used jet skis to rescue an elderly woman and her son from their home. High water closed numerous roads, including Highways 121 and 464. Flooded and washed out roads made it impossible for utility crews to reach some power lines downed by wind or lightning.

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 67 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:14 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Calloway

When
March 1, 5:15 PM CST to 8:45 PM CST
Where
Calloway County, Murray
Property damage
$100,000
Coordinates
36.621, -88.272 (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: 5595926.