Flash Flood, Muhlenberg
- When
- March 1, 5:15 PM CST to 8:45 PM CST
- Where
- Muhlenberg County, Central City
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $300,000
- Coordinates
- 37.216, -87.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Kentucky, March 1, 1997
M. The man was attempting to ride in a rubber inner-tube on a swollen portion of the creek.
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
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $300,000
- 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.
A 41-year-old male drowned in Cypress Creek near Central City around 5 P.M. The man was attempting to ride in a rubber inner-tube on a swollen portion of the creek. Witnesses report the current forced him under a concrete bridge. The body was located a few days later. This was the third and most significant round of thunderstorms, bringing 3-day rainfall totals to near 8 inches in spots. The result was widespread flash flooding of roads and small rivers. About a dozen roads were damaged, including State Route 973 near U.S. 431, which was closed by a mud slide. U.S. 62 was closed at the Hopkins County line. A total of about 30 roads were damaged or covered by water for days.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Muhlenberg | 1997-03-01 | 41 | Male | In Water | Direct |
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
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flood in Kentucky, March 1 to 6, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornadoes in Tennessee, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flooding in Tennessee, March 1 to 11, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornadoes in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flash Flood in Ohio, March 1 to 2, 1997
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, March 1, 1997
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: 5594897.