Kentucky, 1997

Flooding in Kentucky, March 1 to 3, 1997

March 1 to 3, 1997 · NWS LMK · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

Record 24 hour rainfall from early March 1 through early March 2 at most spots on the order of 6 to 12 inches caused widepread flooding with numerous roads water covered and closed and hundreds of rescues from cars trapped in water and people trapped in flooded homes. All of these counties were declared federal disaster areas and received federal aid.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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
$2.5 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
9

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 LMK wrote it up.

Record 24 hour rainfall from early March 1 through early March 2 at most spots on the order of 6 to 12 inches caused widepread flooding with numerous roads water covered and closed and hundreds of rescues from cars trapped in water and people trapped in flooded homes. All of these counties were declared federal disaster areas and received federal aid. Damage estimates include flash flooding damage as well. Many homes and businesses were effected.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Ohio

When
March 1, 10:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Ohio forecast zone
Property damage
$350,000
Coordinates
37.478, -86.849 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Hancock

When
March 1, 10:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Hancock forecast zone
Coordinates
37.842, -86.778 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Breckinridge

When
March 1, 10:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Breckinridge forecast zone
Coordinates
37.773, -86.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Hardin

When
March 1, 10:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Hardin forecast zone
Coordinates
37.698, -85.963 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Meade

When
March 1, 10:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Meade forecast zone
Coordinates
37.970, -86.217 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Bullitt

When
March 1, 10:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Bullitt forecast zone
Coordinates
37.970, -85.696 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Shelby

When
March 1, 10:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Shelby forecast zone
Coordinates
38.215, -85.195 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Oldham

When
March 1, 10:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Oldham forecast zone
Coordinates
38.399, -85.448 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Henry

When
March 1, 10:00 AM EST to March 3, 3:00 PM EST
Where
Henry forecast zone
Property damage
$2.1 million
Coordinates
38.449, -85.119 (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

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: 5596553, 5596554, 5596555, 5596556, 5596557, 5596558, 5596559, 5596560, 5596561.