Flood, Hamilton
- When
- March 2, 8:30 AM EST to March 11, 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Hamilton forecast zone
- Property damage
- $4.0 million
- Coordinates
- 39.196, -84.543 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in Ohio, March 2 to 11, 1997
Heavy rainfall occurred across Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky on the 1st and 2nd with areas along the Ohio river receiving up to 12 inches of rainfall. 8 feet at Portsmouth at 1000 pm on the 4th.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $15 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
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 ILN wrote it up.
Heavy rainfall occurred across Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky on the 1st and 2nd with areas along the Ohio river receiving up to 12 inches of rainfall. The river rose rapidly reaching a crest of 59.8 feet at Portsmouth at 1000 pm on the 4th. Flood stage is 50.0 feet. Further downstream at Meldahl Dam, the river crested at 61.3 feet at 700 pm on the 6th. Flood stage is 51.0 feet. In Cincinnati, the river crested at 64.7 feet at 1100 pm on the 5th. Many towns were flooded from Portsmouth to Cincinnati and thousands of people were evacuated from their homes for several days.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Clermont
- When
- March 2, 8:30 AM EST to March 11, 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Clermont forecast zone
- Property damage
- $3.0 million
- Coordinates
- 39.047, -84.152 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Brown
- When
- March 2, 8:30 AM EST to March 11, 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Brown forecast zone
- Property damage
- $2.0 million
- Coordinates
- 38.934, -83.867 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Adams
- When
- March 2, 8:30 AM EST to March 11, 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Adams forecast zone
- Property damage
- $4.0 million
- Coordinates
- 38.846, -83.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Scioto
- When
- March 2, 8:30 AM EST to March 11, 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Scioto forecast zone
- Property damage
- $2.0 million
- Coordinates
- 38.804, -82.993 (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
- Damaging Wind in Texas, March 2, 1997
- Flood in West Virginia, March 2 to 7, 1997
- Flooding in Kentucky, March 2 to 15, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Utah, March 2 to 4, 1997
- Flooding in Kentucky, March 2 to 9, 1997
- Flash Flood in Ohio, March 2, 1997
- Flood in Ohio, March 2 to 6, 1997
- Flood in West Virginia, March 2 to 3, 1997
- Flooding in Indiana, March 2 to 15, 1997
- Flooding in Kentucky, March 2 to 31, 1997
- Flooding in Indiana, March 2 to 11, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Texas, March 2, 1997
More
Every storm in Ohio in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, 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: 5597067, 5597068, 5597069, 5597070, 5597071.