Kentucky, 1997

Flash Flooding in Kentucky, May 28, 1997

May 28, 1997 · NWS PAH · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

4 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
$50,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 40 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:00 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Livingston

When
May 28, 4:00 PM CST to 6:45 PM CST
Where
Livingston County, Smithland
Coordinates
37.210, -88.354 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Slow moving thunderstorms produced rainfall amounts estimated as high as 3 inches in 3 hours from Smithland east across the county. Areas of major flooding affected Highways 60, 70, and 453, but no closures were reported.

Flash Flood, McCracken

When
May 28, 4:00 PM CST
Where
McCracken County, Paducah
Property damage
$50,000
Coordinates
37.054, -88.713 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Slow moving thunderstorms produced rainfall amounts estimated as much as 2 inches per hour over downtown Paducah. The police department reported all major intersections in downtown Paducah were covered by water. Water went over the Crooked Creek bridge. Evacuations were advised for a small neighborhood on the west side of paducah. Several roads were closed by high water.

Flash Flood, Graves

When
May 28, 6:45 PM CST to 7:45 PM CST
Where
Graves County, Symsonia
Coordinates
36.723, -88.651 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Slow moving thunderstorms dumped as much as 3 inches of rain over extreme northeast Graves County within 3 hours, according to radar estimates. Although other parts of the county received less rain, there was still some road flooding. Highway 96 was covered with a couple inches of water south of Mayfield.

Flash Flood, Marshall

When
May 28, 6:45 PM CST to 7:45 PM CST
Where
Marshall County, Palma
Coordinates
36.884, -88.329 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A slow-moving line of thunderstorms produced as much as 3 inches of rain in 3 hours near U.S. 68 in northern Marshall County. U.S. 68 was under water near Palma.

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, May 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: 5604508, 5604509, 5604510, 5604596.