Kentucky, 2001

Debris Flow in Kentucky, January 19, 2001

January 19, 2001 · NWS JKL · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 debris flow, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 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 Jackson, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 19, 3:50 AM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 19, 3:50 AM EST, 2 hours 20 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY
350 AM EST FRI JAN 19 2001

THE NGM...ETA AND AVN MODELS ARE SIMILAR. A WARM FRONT FROM EASTERN
KY THROUGH CENTRAL TN WILL CONTINUE TO FOCUS PRECIP TODAY BEFORE
MOVING EAST OF THE APPALACHIANS TONIGHT. SOUNDINGS FROM THE ETA
MODEL SUGGEST MOSTLY RAIN OVER EASTERN KY TODAY...MIXING WITH SNOW
IN THE NORTHEAST THIS AFTERNOON...AND CHANGING TO ALL SNOW FOR TONIGHT.
ELSEWHERE OVER THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST...RAIN IS EXPECTED TO MIX WITH
SLEET LATE THIS AFTERNOON...AND CHANGE TO FREEZING RAIN TONIGHT. THE
FLASH FLOOD WATCH WILL BE CONTINUED FOR TODAY FOR THE HIGHER TERRAIN
OF FAR EAST AND SOUTHEAST KY WHERE AVERAGE RAINFALL SO FAR HAS BEEN
1 TO 2 INCHES AND THE GROUND IS SATURATED. THE WINTER STORM WATCH
WILL BE CONTINUED FOR TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY. ALTHOUGH SNOW AMOUNTS
MAY ONLY BE IN THE 1-3 INCH RANGE... SLEET AND GLAZE ACCUMULATIONS
COULD REACH A QUARTER INCH IN PLACES. SINCE THE MODELS INDICATE THAT
THE DEEP MOISTURE MOVES NORTH AND EAST AFTER MIDNIGHT...PRECIP
AMOUNTS SHOULD TAPER OFF QUICKLY OVERNIGHT. AS COLD AIR SEEPS IN
THROUGH THE DAY...TEMPERATURES WILL STEADILY FALL...REACHING LOWS
AROUND 20 SATURDAY MORNING. THE UPPER LOW THAT RESULTS FROM A MERGER
TODAY OF THE SHORT WAVE FROM THE UPPER PLAINS AND THE SHORT WAVE
OVER TX WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS KY SATURDAY AND BRING A CHANCE OF SNOW
SHOWERS DURING THE DAY...DIMINISHING TO FLURRIES SATURDAY NIGHT.

JKL 39/20 27/20  +830
LOZ 41/22 29/20  +830

THANK YOU...MORRISTOWN...CHARLESTON AND LOUISVILLE FOR THE
COORDINATION.

.JKL...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TODAY FOR FAR EAST AND SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY.
       WINTER STORM WATCH FOR MOST OF EASTERN KENTUCKY TONIGHT INTO
       SATURDAY.

SCHAUB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 debris flow. Local standard time, as filed.

Debris Flow, Harlan

When
January 19, 6:10 AM EST
Where
Harlan County, 3 mi S of Harlan
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
36.857, -83.218 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Rockslide on US Hwy 119 was triggered by heavy rain.

What these are

Debris Flow
A fast-moving slurry of mud, rock and debris, usually on a slope soaked by heavy rain or stripped by a fire.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Kentucky in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, January 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: 5228446.