Flooding in Kentucky, May 1 to 29, 2002

Name: Flooding in Kentucky, May 1 to 29, 2002
Start: 2002-05-01T00:01
End: 2002-05-29T09:00
Location: Kentucky

May 1 to 29, 2002 · NWS PAH · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Minor to moderate flooding of the Ohio River occurred. At Uniontown, the river was above flood stage nearly all month.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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 happened

The episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.

Minor to moderate flooding of the Ohio River occurred. At Uniontown, the river was above flood stage nearly all month. Downriver at Smithland and Paducah, the flooding occurred during the mid and latter part of the month. The dates of the highest river crests were: May 23 at Uniontown, May 19 at Paducah, and May 18 and 24 at Smithland. The highest crest levels were 43 to 45 feet at all three gage sites. Flood stages are as follows: 37 feet at Uniontown, 40 feet at Smithland, and 39 feet at Paducah. Flooding of agricultural areas was rather extensive, which delayed the planting of crops for many farmers. Corn is normally planted by mid May. At Paducah, portions of the riverfront city park were flooded. In rural areas without levy protection, a number of roads near the river were closed. A cross-river ferry based in Crittenden County ceased operations due to high water. Few structures were flooded. Those that were flooded were low dollar-value structures that normally flood every few years.

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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 30, 12:54 PM CST, 11 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 12:54 PM CST, 11 hours 7 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
154 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2002

SPLIT FLOW PATTERN MAKING FOR A TRICKY FORECAST. SIMILAR PATTERN
SETTING UP FOR OUR CWA OVER THE NEXT 24-30 HOURS THAT HAS BROUGHT US
SEVERAL ROUNDS OF SEVERE WEATHER OVER THE PAST 7 OR 8 DAYS.

12Z MODEL RUNS HAVING DIFFICULTY DECIDING WHAT TO DO WITH THE WARM
FRONT BETWEEN NOW AND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. ETA/NGM TAKE MCS OVER
NE AR AND MOVE IT OFF TO THE EAST THIS EVENING WITH VERY LITTLE
CONVECTION THEREAFTER. THIS WOULD PROMPT LIKELY POPS ACROSS THE
SOUTHERN HALF WITH MAINLY EVENING WORDING. THE AVN IS MORE
AGGRESSIVE AT THE ONSET FURTHER NORTH OVER THE CWA WHICH MATCHES UP
OKAY WITH KSGF RADAR. BY 12Z WEDNESDAY MORNING ALL MODELS HAVE WARM
FRONT ALONG OR JUST NORTH OF THE KY/TN BORDER. THE BIG QUESTION IS
WHETHER OR NOT THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE WORKED OVER TOO MUCH TO
PRODUCE WIDESPREAD CONVECTION IN THE WAKE OF THE MCS. AVN MOS
NUMBERS LOOK TOO HIGH AND NGM MOS TOO LOW...SO WILL GO SOMEWHERE IN
BETWEEN. ANY STORMS THAT DO BECOME SEVERE NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT
TONIGHT ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND POSSIBLY AN ELEVATED
SUPERCELL. WEDNESDAY MORNING THE WARM FRONT WILL LIFT TO THE NORTH
OF THE CWA PUTTING US IN THE WARM SECTOR. APPROACHING COLD FRONT
SHOULD BEGIN TO CROSS THE CWA WEDNESDAY EVENING. AHEAD OF THE FRONT
WITH TEMPS EXPECTED FROM THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S AND DEWPOINTS IN
THE MID TO UPPER 60S...LIS EXPECTED TO REACH DOWN INTO THE -5 TO -7
RANGE TOMOROW AFTERNOON. COINCIDENT WITH THE INSTABILITY MODELS
SHOWING CAPE IN EXCESS OF 3000 AND HELICITY IN EXCESS OF 500.
NEEDLESS TO SAY...WEDNESDAY LOOKS UGLY WITH MULTIPLE ROTATING STORMS
WITH STRONG AND VIOLENT TORNADOES POSSIBLE. THINK RW/TRW WILL LINGER
INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT ACROSS THE SE HALF OF THE CWA SO WILL KEEP CHC
POPS THERE. ON THURSDAY AVN SHOWING DECENT MOISTURE ALONG AND NORTH
OF THE FRONT ACROSS THE SE HALF OF THE CWA. HIGH PRESSURE WILL RULE
FROM THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. BY SATURDAY EVENING THE NEXT
SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION AND PRODUCE RW/TRW. WE THEN
REVERT BACK TO A SW FLOW ALOFT PATTERN BRINGING CHUNKS OF ENERGY
ACROSS THE AREA WHICH WILL TAP INTO THE EVER PRESENT GULF MOISTURE
TO PRODUCE SCATTERED RW/TRW.

FOR TEMPS...WILL GO WITH A FWC/MAV MOS COMPROMISE.

.PAH...NONE.

PACKETT

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 30, 9:05 PM CST, 2 hours 56 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1005 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1000 PM    CLINTON                   KY   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/30/02   HICKMAN                        REPORTED BY HICKMAN
                                          COUNTY DES OFFICE

Local storm report, Apr 30, 9:05 PM CST, 2 hours 56 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION TO DATES
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1005 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1000 PM    CLINTON                   KY   0.75 INCH HAIL
04/30/02   HICKMAN                        REPORTED BY HICKMAN
                                          COUNTY DES OFFICE

Local storm report, Apr 30, 9:12 PM CST, 2 hours 49 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1012 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1000 PM                              KY   1.50 INCH HAIL
05/30/02   HICKMAN                        3 MILES EAST OF HICKMAN
                                          ALONG HIGHWAY 58 EAST.
                                          SPOTTER RELAYED THAT HAIL
                                          WAS SMALLER THAN GOLFBALL
                                          SIZE. REPORTED BY HICKMAN
                                          COUNTY DES OFFICE.

Local storm report, Apr 30, 9:12 PM CST, 2 hours 49 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION TO DATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1012 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1000 PM                              KY   1.50 INCH HAIL
04/30/02   HICKMAN                        3 MILES EAST OF HICKMAN
                                          ALONG HIGHWAY 58 EAST.
                                          SPOTTER RELAYED THAT HAIL
                                          WAS SMALLER THAN GOLFBALL
                                          SIZE. REPORTED BY HICKMAN
                                          COUNTY DES OFFICE.

Local storm report, Apr 30, 10:28 PM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1128 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1010 PM    PILOT OAK                 KY   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/30/02   GRAVES                         REPORTED BY GRAVES COUNTY
                                          DES.

1015 PM    CUBA                      KY   0.75 INCH HAIL
05/30/02   GRAVES                         REPORTED BY GRAVES COUNTY
                                          DES.

1020 PM    4E WINGO                  KY   WIND DAMAGE
05/30/02   GRAVES                         SEVERAL TREES AND
                                          POWERLINES DOWN. REPORTED
                                          BY GRAVES COUNTY DES.

1015 PM    WATER VALLEY              KY   WIND DAMAGE
05/30/02   GRAVES                         SEVERAL TREES AND
                                          POWERLINES DOWN. REPORTED
                                          BY GRAVES COUNTY DES.

DLL

Local storm report, Apr 30, 10:28 PM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION TO DATES
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1128 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1010 PM    PILOT OAK                 KY   0.75 INCH HAIL
04/30/02   GRAVES                         REPORTED BY GRAVES COUNTY
                                          DES.

1015 PM    CUBA                      KY   0.75 INCH HAIL
04/30/02   GRAVES                         REPORTED BY GRAVES COUNTY
                                          DES.

1020 PM    4E WINGO                  KY   WIND DAMAGE
04/30/02   GRAVES                         SEVERAL TREES AND
                                          POWERLINES DOWN. REPORTED
                                          BY GRAVES COUNTY DES.

1015 PM    WATER VALLEY              KY   WIND DAMAGE
04/30/02   GRAVES                         SEVERAL TREES AND
                                          POWERLINES DOWN. REPORTED
                                          BY GRAVES COUNTY DES.

DLL

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Ballard

When: May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Ballard forecast zone
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 37.058, -88.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Crittenden

When: May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Crittenden forecast zone
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 37.353, -88.097 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Daviess

When: May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Daviess forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 37.732, -87.087 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Henderson

When: May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Henderson forecast zone
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 37.796, -87.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Livingston

When: May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Livingston forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 37.210, -88.354 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, McCracken

When: May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: McCracken forecast zone
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 37.054, -88.713 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Union

When: May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 29, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Union forecast zone
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 37.659, -87.945 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Kentucky in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Kentucky, May 2002

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: 5295594, 5295595, 5295596, 5295597, 5295669, 5295670, 5295671.