Drought in Kentucky, September 1 to 30, 1998

Name: Drought in Kentucky, September 1 to 30, 1998
Start: 1998-09-01T00:01
End: 1998-09-30T23:59
Location: Kentucky

September 1 to 30, 1998 · NWS PAH · 22 events in 22 counties and zones

12 inch. The dry weather was very costly to farmers of certain crops, especially soybean farmers.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 22 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 22

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.

September, 1998 was the driest September on record at Paducah, where rainfall for the month totalled only 0.12 inch. The dry weather was very costly to farmers of certain crops, especially soybean farmers. The drought reduced yields for soybeans and late-planted corn by 25 to 30 percent in some counties. The dry conditions prompted authorities in several counties to impose no-burn orders. Those counties under no-burn orders included Lyon, Ballard, Daviess, and Livingston. One large brush fire that started around September 13 consumed 650 acres just south of Central City in Muhlenberg County. The drought, which was classified as "mild," began in early August. The lack of rainfall late in the summer was mitigated by one of the wettest springs on record at Paducah. Low water levels on the Mississippi River resulted in the cancellation of a cruise barge stop in Hickman.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

22 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Ballard

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Ballard forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.058, -88.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Caldwell

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Caldwell forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.145, -87.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Calloway

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Calloway forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.621, -88.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Carlisle

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Carlisle forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.853, -88.971 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Christian

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Christian forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.894, -87.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Crittenden

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Crittenden forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.353, -88.097 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Daviess

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Daviess forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.732, -87.087 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Fulton

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Fulton forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.554, -89.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Graves

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Graves forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.723, -88.651 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Henderson

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Henderson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.796, -87.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hickman

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Hickman forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.678, -88.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hopkins

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Hopkins forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.309, -87.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Livingston

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Livingston forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.210, -88.354 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lyon

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Lyon forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.019, -88.083 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Marshall

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.884, -88.329 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, McCracken

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: McCracken forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.054, -88.713 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, McLean

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: McLean forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.529, -87.264 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Muhlenberg

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Muhlenberg forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.216, -87.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Todd

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Todd forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.836, -87.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Trigg

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Trigg forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 36.806, -87.873 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Union

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Union forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.659, -87.945 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Webster

When: September 1, 12:01 AM CST to September 30, 11:59 PM CST
Where: Webster forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 37.518, -87.683 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Kentucky in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Kentucky, September 1998

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: 5668133, 5668134, 5668135, 5668136, 5668137, 5668138, 5668139, 5668140, 5668141, 5668142, 5668143, 5668144, 5668145, 5668146, 5668147, 5668148, 5668149, 5668150, 5668151, 5668152, 5668153, 5668154.