1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 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 Louisville, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 19, 3:04 PM EST, 7 hours 56 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 230 PM EST TUE MAR 19 2002 DEEP LAYERED SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW AND MSTR STREAM CONT TO FLOW FM SRN PLAINS ACROSS MUCH OF OHIO VALLEY. RAIN HAS BEEN STEADY ACRS SCNTL IND AND NCNTRL/ECNTRL KY THIS AFTN. RAINFALL AMTS SINCE MIDNIGHT LAST NGT HAVE BEEN FM 1 TO 2 INCHES OVER MUCH OF NCNTRL AND ECNTRL KY...ARND AN INCH IN SCNTRL IN...WITH LESSER AMTS IN SCNTRL KY. MODELS SUGGEST WRM FNT WL LIFT INTO SCNTRL AND PSBLY ECNTRL KY LATE THIS AFTN AND EVNG AHD OF WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE. MESONET DATA VERIFIES THIS AS WX STATION NEAR ALBANY IN CLINTON COUNTY SUGGESTS TEMPS IN UPR 60S WITH MID 60S JUST TO W. METAR OBS IN MID TN ALSO SHOW NICE WRMG. RAIN HAS MAINLY OCCRD N OF BNDRY SO FAR TODAY... ALTHO SOME SHWRS OCCRG ALG/JUST S OF FNT AT THIS TIME. EVOLUTION OF WRM FNT CREATES TEMP AND PRECIP PROBS FOR TNGT. SO FAR...NOT MUCH CNVCTN HAS DVLPD ALG OR S OF BNDRY ALTHO MSAS DATA REVEALS LOW-LVL MSTR FLUX CNVRGNC ALG BNDRY. AS BNDRY LIFTS A BIT FARTHER NORTH THIS EVNG...THIS WL DIMINISH WIDESPREAD RAINFALL IN ITS PATH. KPAH RADAR SHOWS ONLY SCT SHWRS AT THIS TIME UPSTREAM OVR WRN KY WITH STEADY RAINS OVR SRN IL AND SERN MO. NEVERTHELESS...SCT SHWRS WL OCR THIS EVNG WITH PSBLTY OF CNVCTV DVLPMT OVR SCNTRL KY AS AMS CONTS TO DESTABILIZE ALG/S OF FNT. IN ADDITION...MODELS SUGGEST FORCING WL INCRS AGN OVRNGT ACRS CNTRL KY...WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH PREVIOUS RUNS...AS WAVE MOVS UP ALG FNT. THUS...HEAVIER/MORE WIDESPREAD RAIN SHLD REDVLP/MOVE BACK INTO AREA LATE TNGT AND CONT INTO WEDNESDAY. AVN/ETA/NGM ALL ARE SIMILAR IN EVOLUTION OF THIS SYSTEM ON WEDNESDAY BUT DIFFER IN HOW QUICKLY SYSTEM WL BE SHUNTED SOUTHEASTWARD DUE TO IMPINGING NRN STREAM FLOW. AVN TENDS TO DAMPEN SRN STREAM SYSTEMS A LTL TOO QUICKLY AND WTR VPR IMAGERY SUGGESTS THAT THE SLGTLY SLOWER ETA/NGM MAY BE CORRECT. WITH THIS IN MIND...RAIN OVERNGT WL CONT THRU THE MRNG ACRS NCNTRL KY BFR DIMINISHING...AND CONT MUCH OF DAY OVR SERN PARTS OF FCST AREA. GIVEN SOIL SATURATION AND CREEKS RUNNING HIGH...WL CONT FLD WATCH THRU WEDNESDAY MRNG S OF OH RVR (EVEN IF ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMTS IN MRNG OVR NCNTRL KY ARE ONLY MODEST). WL CONT WATCH THRUOUT WEDNESDAY OVR SERN PARTS OF FCST AREA. SYSTEM MOVES AWAY BY WEDNESDAY NGT ALLOWING SOME CLRG TO OCR. THEN NRN STREAM SYSTEM BRINGS DOWN SIGNIF CDFNT LATE THURS WHICH WL USHER IN A TASTE...ALBEIT BRIEF...OF WINTER AGN FOR THURS NGT AND FRIDAY. TEMPS THIS EVNG SHLD RISE SOMEWHAT OVR ERN AREAS THEN STEADY OUT OR FALL A BIT OVRNGT. THEREAFTER...FWC MAX TEMPS QUITE A BIT HIGHER THAN MAV NUMBERS. WL TREND TWRD HIGHER FWC VALUES...ALTHO THURS MAXS SEEM TOO HIGH...AT LEAST ACRS THE NORTH. .SDF...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL INDIANA...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING CENTRAL KENTUCKY...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY PARTS OF SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY EAST OF BOWLING GREEN. FUNK
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Licking River at Blue Licks Spring crested at 34.6 feet late in the evening on March 20. Flood stage at Blue Licks Spring is 25 feet. Minor flooding occurs at this level with some flooding of crop lands.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, March 2002
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: 5285980.