Flood, Muhlenberg
- When
- December 17, 7:00 AM CST to December 19, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Muhlenberg forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 37.216, -87.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in Kentucky, December 17 to 19, 2001
The Green River crested about a foot above flood stage at Paradise on December 18. This resulted in minor flooding of agricultural bottomland and low-lying areas.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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.
What happened
The episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.
The Green River crested about a foot above flood stage at Paradise on December 18. This resulted in minor flooding of agricultural bottomland and low-lying areas.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 17, 2:08 AM CST, 4 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 17, 2:08 AM CST, 4 hours 52 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 208 AM CST MON DEC 17 2001 MAIN CHALLANGE CONTINUES TO BE DURATION AND AMOUNT OF RAIN. CURRENT PACKAGE IN PRETY GOOD SHAPE. WILL MAKE A FEW TWEAKS HERE AND THERE TO ACCOMODATE TIMING OF PRECIP. LOCAL RADAR LOOPS SHOWS BACK EDGE OF PRECIP SHIELD MAKING ITS WAY ACROSS CENTRAL MISSOURI AND CENTRAL ARKANSAS. DUE TO QUICK MOVEMENT OF ONGOING SYSTEM...BOTH ETA/AVN SHOW HEAVY PRECIP EAST OF THE REGION BY 18Z...HOWEVER WRAP-AROUND MOISTURE AND UPPER TROF COULD TOUCH OFF SCATTERED SHOWERS THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON. WILL SPLIT THE FIRST PERIOD OF ALL ZONES TO ACCOMODATE FOR THIS. EXPECT ANOTHER 1 TO 1 1/2 INCHES OF RAIN CWA-WIDE BEFORE PRECIP EXITS WITH THE LOW TO THE NORTHEAST. THIS SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO CAUSE MOST OF THE CWA TO HAVE SOME LEVEL OF FLOODING PROBLEMS. AS A RESULT...WILL LEAVE CURRENT FFA IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM CST. IN THE WAKE OF THIS SYSTEM UPPER FLOW BRIEFLY BECOMES ZONAL BUT BY TUESDAY NIGHT A SHORT WAVE AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT COMES WHIPPING ACROSS THE CWA. POST FRONTAL MOISTURE APPEARS TO BE LIMITED AND BOTH MODELS SHOWING MAINLY SINGLE DIGIT POPS SO WILL MENTION CLOUDINESS ONLY. AFTER THAT SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE AND STEADILY RISING HEIGHTS ALOFT SHOULD KEEP THE REGION DRY THROUGH AT LEAST LATE SATURDAY. WILL NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED AT THIS TIME. .PAH...FLOOD WATCH (FFA) FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND WESTERN KENTUCKY THROUGH 4 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON. PACKETT
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Dec 17, 5:00 AM CST, 2 hours before
ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-100- 107>112-114-171500- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 500 AM CST MON DEC 17 2001 ...HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...WESTERN KENTUCKY...AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA... THREATS... A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE QUAD STATE REGION TODAY. DISCUSSION... LOW PRESSURE OVER WESTERN TENNESSEE THIS MORNING WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK NORTHEAST TODAY...MOVING INTO NORTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY BY MIDDAY. AS THIS STORM SYSTEM MOVES AWAY FROM OUR AREA...RAIN WILL END ACROSS THE QUAD STATE FROM WEST TO EAST THIS MORNING. ALTHOUGH THE MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN WILL COME TO AN END BY MIDDAY...CREEKS AND RIVERS WILL CONTINUE TO RISE THROUGHOUT THE DAY DUE TO RUNOFF FROM THE WELL SATURATED GROUND. ANY FLOODING THAT OCCURRED OVERNIGHT OR DEVELOPS THIS MORNING WILL BE SLOW TO SUBSIDE...AND THEREFORE A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT 4 PM CST. SPOTTER ACTIVATION... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED THROUGHOUT THE DAY FOR CONTINUED UPDATES ON FLOODING ACROSS THE REGION. PLEASE REPORT ANY AREAS OF FLOODING TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. RSU
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flooding in Indiana, December 17, 2001
- Rip Current in Florida, December 17, 2001
- Flooding in Arkansas, December 17 to 18, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Illinois, December 17, 2001
- Winter Weather in Vermont, December 17 to 18, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Maine, December 17 to 18, 2001
- Flooding in Illinois, December 17 to 18, 2001
- Winter Weather in Vermont, December 17 to 18, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Arkansas, December 17, 2001
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, December 17 to 18, 2001
- Flooding in Ohio, December 17, 2001
- Winter Storm in Maine, December 17 to 18, 2001
More
Every storm in Kentucky in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, December 2001
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: 5273521.