Kentucky, 1997

Flash Flood in Kentucky, March 1, 1997

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

The Union County Shopping Center parking lot rapidly filled with five to six feet of water. Several vehicles were partially or totally covered with water.

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.

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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.

The Union County Shopping Center parking lot rapidly filled with five to six feet of water. Several vehicles were partially or totally covered with water. Many employees were trapped in the stores and had to be rescued by large trucks. Most cities in the county were cut off from outside traffic for at least two to three hours. Up to four inches of rain fell within four hours.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Union

When
March 1, 5:15 PM CST to 8:45 PM CST
Where
Union County, Morganfield
Property damage
$100,000
Coordinates
37.659, -87.945 (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: 5594900.