Flooding in Kentucky, March 1 to 16, 1997

Name: Flooding in Kentucky, March 1 to 16, 1997
Start: 1997-03-01T23:00
End: 1997-03-16T23:00
Location: Kentucky

March 1 to 16, 1997 · NWS LMK · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

7 feet at Rochester at 1000 am est on March 7 (flood stage is 17 feet). This is the second biggest flood next to January 1950.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: $3.0 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

The Green River crested at 30.7 feet at Rochester at 1000 am est on March 7 (flood stage is 17 feet). This is the second biggest flood next to January 1950. Many homes were flooded out in Rochester and Woodberry along the river. In Woodberry, the river crested at 48.9 feet (flood stage is 33 feet) at 11 am est March 5. At Brownsville, the river crested at 33.8 feet (flood stage is 18 feet) at 4 pm est on March 5. This caused mainly bottomland flooding. At Munfordville, the river crested at 43.9 feet at 10 pm est March 3 (flood stage is 28 feet). This caused significant bottomland flooding. 25 families were cut off by the water there. These three counties received federal disaster aid.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Butler

When: March 1, 11:00 PM EST to March 16, 11:00 PM EST
Where: Butler forecast zone
Property damage: $1.0 million
Coordinates: 37.207, -86.682 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Hart

When: March 2, 4:00 AM EST to March 7, 2:00 AM EST
Where: Hart forecast zone
Property damage: $1.0 million
Coordinates: 37.300, -85.885 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Edmonson

When: March 2, 12:00 PM EST to March 8, 11:00 PM EST
Where: Edmonson forecast zone
Property damage: $1.0 million
Coordinates: 37.209, -86.239 (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

Every storm in Kentucky in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5596799, 5596801, 5596800.