Flood in Kentucky, January 23, 1999

Name: Flood in Kentucky, January 23, 1999
Start: 1999-01-23T07:30
End: 1999-01-23T14:00
Location: Kentucky

January 23, 1999 · NWS JKL · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Breathitt

When: January 23, 7:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Breathitt County, Taulbee
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.522, -83.324 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Around one inch of rain fell between 4 and 11 am. This resulted in stream rises in the county. Streams rose high enough to cover low water bridges. A 54 year old male attempted to drive across a low water bridge near Taulbee. Water was about 2 feet deep and the car was swept off the bridge. The man drowned.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Flood, Breathitt	1999-01-23	54	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

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 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Kentucky, January 1999

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: 5681146.