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, 2:04 PM EST, 4 hours 56 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 204 PM EST WED MAR 20 2002 ...FOG AND COLD AFTER RAIN AND FLOOD... 500MB TROUGH TRANSLATING THROUGH SRN PLAINS ATTM...MARKING AN END TO THE PERSISTENT MOIST SWLY MID-LEVEL FLOW OVER THE CWA ALONG WITH PUSHING SFC TROUGHINESS/PRECIP INTO PARCHED ERN US. OTHER FEATURE OF INTEREST IS SIG WAVE ROUNDING WRN SECTOR OF LARGER SCALE LOW ANCHORED OVER SRN HUDSON BAY. NW OF CALGARY...1050MB SFC HIGH AND SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURES ARE ASSOC WITH THIS WAVE. CLOSER TO HOME 1026MB SFC HIGH OVER KMCI AHEAD OF STRONG COLD FRONT OVER NRN STATES. LOW CLOUDS IN WAKE OF ERN US SFC TROUGH ARE AN ISSUE FOR TONIGHT...WHICH THE MESO-ETA 925MB RH FIELDS REFLECT WELL. NCEP DISC SUGGESTS AVN/MESO-ETA SIMILAR WITH SYNOPTIC FEATURE THROUGH 60HRS...SO NO REAL FAVORITE STANDS OUT FOR THIS FCST. TONITE...SAT PIX OVER MO/KS/IA ALREADY SHOWING CLEARING OCCURRING IN SUBSIDENT REGION AHEAD OF SOUTHWARD MVG COLD FRONT OVER NRN PLAINS. ASSOC WITH STRONG 500MB WAVE ENTERING NRN US...THIS FRONT MOVES QUICKLY TO A KSTL TO KICT LINE BY 12Z/TUE PER MESO-ETA. SFC RIDGE AXIS AHEAD OF THIS FRONT MOVES OVER CWA DURING PRE-DAWN HOURS WITH L/V WINDS. WITH ALL THIS SFC LAYER MOISTURE REMAINING...FOG IS A POSSIBILITY. GUIDANCE AND TIME-HEIGHT SECTIONS DO SHOW SOME CLEARING MAINLY FOR COUNTIES N/W OF A BWG-LEX LINE. 20KM RUC VISIB PRODUCT ON THE INTERNET SHOWING A BROAD AREA OF <1/2MI VISIB OVER THIS SAME REGION BY 12Z/THU. MAV GUIDANCE AND TO SOME EXTENT NGMMOS PICKING UP ON REDUCED VISIB TOWARDS DAWN...SO WILL BITE AND GO WITH AREAS OF FOG TOWARDS DAWN MOST LOCATIONS. WITH UNCERTAINTY ABOUT CLEARING AND WINDS...WILL NOT MENTION DENSE FOG ATTM. WILL USE BECOMING MOSTLY CLEAR WORDING IN MOST ZONES (XCP SERN COUNTIES WHERE SKIES WILL CLEAR AFTER MIDNIGHT PER 925MB RH FIELDS). MID/UPPER 30S FOR MINIMA FROM N-S BASED ON GUIDANCE AND MESO-ETA SOUND GOOD. THURSDAY...FCST WILL FOCUS AROUND ARCTIC FRONTAL PASSAGE WHICH WILL LIKELY TRANSPIRE DURING THE AFTERNOON. AVN IS ABOUT 3HRS FASTER WITH FROPA. WERE LOOKING AT AN 18-00Z TIMEFRAME FROM N-S OVERALL. VERY SHALLOW BAND OF UPWARD OMEGA WILL HELP FORM SOME CLOUDS ALONG FRONT. ALSO 1000-850MB LAPSE RATES OVER NRN COUNTIES DURING AFT HOURS COULD ALSO ALLOW FOR A FEW SPRINKLES. OVER THE SOUTH...PRE-FRONTAL SUBSIDENCE MIGHT BE ENOUGH FOR TEMPS NEAR 60 ALONG TN LINE PER MESO-ETA. GIVEN UNCERTAINTY IN FRONTAL SPEED (PER 12Z AVN AND 9Z ETA-ENSEMBLE) WILL NOT BE THAT AGGRESSIVE SINCE FRONT MAY MAKE IT THERE BY LATE AFTERNOON. MIGHT MENTION FALLING AFT TEMPS IN FAR NRN COUNTIES BUT WE SHOULD MAKE 50-58 (N-S) TOMORROW. WINDS WILL GRADUALLY INCR THROUGH THE DAY AS FRONT NEARS...WITH 20KTS+ ALONG AND BEHIND THE FRONT. WITH 1000-850MB L/RS >8C/KM BEHIND THE FRONT...GUSTS TO 25KTS ARE POSSIBLE OVER NRN COUNTIES LATE AFTERNOON. THURSDAY NIGHT...FRONT SHOULD PUSH THROUGH SRN ZONES BY THU EVE WITH VERY STRONG 925MB CAA OVER CWA AFTER 3Z. BY 12Z/FRI 925MB TEMPS FALL TO -14C AT KSDF AND SKIES CLEAR OUT BY MIDNIGHT MOST LOCATIONS WITH DOWNGLIDE SHOWN OF 290/300/310K SFCS. GUIDANCE HAS GENERALLY BEEN FOCUSING ON 20F FOR LOWS. IM GOING TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND FOLLOW THE 9Z ETA-ENSEMBLE MEAN 2M TEMPS SINCE THEY EXHIBIT MINIMAL SPREAD IN THE SOLUTIONS OVER THE CWA. THIS WOULD COME OUT TO 21 AT BWG, 18 AT SDF AND LEX, AND 16 IN FAR NRN COUNTIES. BUDS ARE NOW COMING OUT ON TREES AROUND LOUISVILLE SO THESE TEMPS COULD BE HARMFUL. JUST BEHIND FRONT IN THE EVENING...BREEZY/BRISK CONDITIONS AS 1000-850MB LAPSE RATES REMAIN ABOVE 8C/KM AND 925MB WINDS ARE NWLY AT 25-30KTS. SHOULD DIMINISH AS BEST PRESSURE GRADIENT MOVES SE BY DAWN FRIDAY. FRIDAY...AFTER STRONG FRONT AND ASSOC MID-LEVEL WAVE PASSES SIG SUBSIDENCE MOVES INTO CWA ALLOWING FOR M/SUNNY SKIES. COLD SURFACE RIDGE ASSOC WITH 850MB THERMAL TROUGH REMAINS OVER CWA...SO WILL LEAN TOWARDS COOLER GUIDANCE...MESO-ETA SHOWS MID/UPPER 30S. I MIGHT JUST GO 35-40 TO ACCOUNT FOR SMALL VARIABILITY IN NWP OUTPUT. COORDINATED WITH JACKSON THIS AFTERNOON. THANKS .SDF...NONE. SMALLCOMB
INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067- 070>078-081-082-210930- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 300 PM EST WED MAR 20 2002 ...TASTE OF WINTER TO RETURN FOR FRIDAY... AFTER FLOODING RAINS AND A PERIOD OF MILD TEMPERATURES...CENTRAL KENTUCKY AND SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA WILL SEE A DRASTIC CHANGE IN THE WEATHER THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. A POOL OF ARCTIC AIR OVER WESTERN AND CENTRAL CANADA WILL MAKE A SOUTHWARD PLUNGE INTO MOST OF THE UNITED STATES THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. THIS COLD FRONT WILL PLOW THROUGH THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY THURSDAY AFTERNOON USHERING IN MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES. CURRENT COMPUTER MODEL FORECASTS ARE INDICATING THAT WITH CLEAR SKIES BEHIND THE INITIAL COLD FRONT...TEMPERATURES COULD DROP INTO THE UPPER TEENS EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. DURING THE DAY FRIDAY...THE COLD POOL OF AIR WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA. EVEN WITH MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES EXPECTED...TEMPERATURES WILL STRUGGLE TO REACH 40 DEGREES. THIS HARD FREEZE WILL LIKELY IMPACT AREA AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS. PREPARATIONS SHOULD BE MADE FOR A HARD FREEZE. NEWLY BUDDING TREES AND PLANTS COULD SUSTAIN DAMAGE SHOULD TEMPERATURES FALL TO THESE LEVELS. PLANTS AND ANIMALS THAT COULD BE HARMED BY SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES SHOULD ALSO BE MOVED INDOORS THURSDAY EVENING. HOWEVER COLD THESE TEMPERATURES MIGHT SEEM...THEY WILL LIKELY NOT BREAK THE RECORD LOWS FOR MARCH 22ND: LOUISVILLE...14... LEXINGTON...12... BOWLING GREEN...6... AS NEW DATA ARE ANALYZED THIS FORECAST MAY CHANGE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...COMMERCIAL TELEVISION OR RADIO STATIONS...OR THE INTERNET FOR FURTHER UPDATES. SMALLCOMB
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Green River at Woodbury crested at 38.3 feet on the morning of March 22. Flood stage at Woodbury is 33 feet. Minor flooding occurs at this level. The river floods lowlands around the town and several county roads.
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: 5286115.