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 20, 10:50 AM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 1050 AM EST WED MAR 20 2002 RAIN WINDING DOWN ACROSS CWA THIS MORNING FROM NW-SE. BASED ON 13Z/19-13Z/20 KLVX PRECIP HEAVIEST BAND OF 2+ RAINS FELL FROM OHIO TO FAYETTE COUNTIES IN KENTUCKY...WITH A MAXIMUM OF 3+ OVER SRN SCOTT CO. THESE AREAS ARE WHERE FLOODING PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN MOST WIDESPREAD...NUMEROUS FFW/FLWS ISSUED THUS FAR. 12Z MESO-ETA 300K SFC SHOWS 750MB BAROCLINIC ZONE ASSOC WITH HEAVIEST PRECIP MVD E OF CWA AFT 15Z. DOWNGLIDE RAPIDLY TAKING OVER IN SUB-310K LAYERS WITH BEST DEEP-LAYER MOISTURE E OF CWA BY 18Z. WILL BE DROPPING FLOOD WATCH AND UPDATING ZONES SHORTLY. RUNOFF WILL STILL BE AN ISSUE WITH SOME ROADS REMAINING CLOSED. ALSO RIVER FLOODING WILL LIKELY PERSIST FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. .SDF...NONE. SMALLCOMB
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The South Fork of the Licking River at Cynthiana crested at 20.5 feet late in the afternoon on March 20. Flood stage at Cynthiana is 20 feet. Minor flooding occurs at this level. Some area streets were covered with water.
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: 5285979.