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 21, 2:55 AM EST, 7 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 255 AM EST THU MAR 21 2002 SATELLITE PICS ERY THIS MRNG REVEAL LOW AND MID CLOUDS ABOUT READY TO EXIT OUR WRN FORECAST AREA (FA)... WITH CLRG THEN WORKG INTO OUR ERN FA DURG THE PREDAWN HOURS. MUCH OF OUR FA IS RIPE FOR FOG FORMATION ERY THIS MRNG. MSAS DATA INDICATING NARROW RDG AXIS.. WITH NEARLY CALM WNDS... ACRS THE OH VLY ERY THIS MRNG. AS A RESULT... WITH ALL OF THE RAIN LAST FEW DAYS...WE PLAN TO MENTION FOG IN ONE FASHION OR ANOTHER ERY TDA. COLD SURGE TO THEN WORK ACRS OUR FA THIS AFTN ... WITH FNT (AS IT WERE) IN OUR NW FA LATE THIS MRNG...THEN SWEEPING ACRS CNTRL KY THIS AFTN. RH TIME SECTIONS SHOWING BAND OF LOW LVL AND SOME MID LVL CLDS MOVG IN TDA...SO INCREASING CLDS ON TAP. WHETHER OR NOT ENUF MOIST FOR SPRINKLES/BRIEF SHWRS IS A QUESTION MARK...BUT WE HAVE IT IN...AND WILL LEAVE IT. WE HAVE GONE SLIGHTLY ABOVE MOS GUIDE TEMPS TDA...SIMILIAR TO RAW ETA TEMPS. DETAILED FOUS SHOWING T1 TEMPS RISING NICELY THRU MIDDAY...SO SHUD BE ABLE TO GET TEMPS JUST ABOVE MOS READINGS. THEN STG CAA THIS AFTN (STARTING FIRST ALOFT) WILL HELP OVERTURN ATMOSPHERE WITH BRISK OR WNDY CONDITIONS. DECENT SUBSIDENCE PTN TNGT WILL ALLOW SKIES TO CLEAR FM NW TO SE. MOS TEMP GUIDE...AND RAW MODEL TEMPS... ALL CLUSTERED IN THE MID TEENS TO LOWER 20S...WHICH CURRENT FCST HANDLES WELL. HIGH PRESSURE TO PROVIDE LOTS OF SUNSHINE FRIDAY...ALTHOUGH TEMPS WILL BE RUNNING BELOW NORMAL. MARCH SUNSHINE QUICKLY TO ALLOW TEMPS TO REBOUND OVR THE WEEKEND INTO THE 50S. NEXT SHOT OF RAIN STARTING UP SUNDAY/ SUNDAY NITE. .SDF...NONE. STUREY
INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067- 070>078-081-082-211645- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 500 AM EST THU MAR 21 2002 AFTER MILD TEMPERATURES AND FLOODING RAINS THE LAST TWO DAYS...A STRONG COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO SWEEP ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS FRONT WILL BRING A BRIEF TASTE OF WINTER BACK TO THE OHIO VALLEY...WITH GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS AND COLDER TEMPERATURES. HIGH TEMPERATURES ACROSS OUR REGION TODAY WILL RANGE FROM 45 TO 55 DEGREES...BUT THOSE READINGS WILL BE MUCH COOLER SHORTLY AFTER SUNDOWN. LOW TEMPERATURES TONIGHT SHOULD THEN SETTLE INTO THE 15 TO 22 DEGREE RANGE...WITH WIND CHILL VALUES IN THE SINGLE DIGITS. A FEW SNOW FLURRIES MAY EVEN BE NOTED FROM TIME TO TIME THIS EVENING. PEOPLE IN SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY SHOULD REMEMBER TO DRESS APPROPRIATELY FOR THE COLD TONIGHT...OR AS YOU HEAD OUT TO WORK OR SCHOOL FRIDAY MORNING. FINALLY...COLD SNAPS USUALLY DO NOT LAST LONG THIS TIME OF YEAR... AND THAT WILL BE THE CASE AROUND OUR REGION...AS TEMPERATURES WARM QUICKLY INTO THE 50S OVER THE WEEKEND. STUREY
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Green River at Munfordville crested at 28.3 feet early in the afternoon on March 21. Flood stage at Munfordville is 28 feet. Minor flooding occurs at this level. The city park under the U.S. 31W bridge is flooded.
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: 5286113.