Flash Flooding in Kentucky, September 26 to 27, 2002

Name: Flash Flooding in Kentucky, September 26 to 27, 2002
Start: 2002-09-26T17:55
End: 2002-09-27T04:00
Location: Kentucky

September 26 to 27, 2002 · NWS PAH · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: $5,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Isidore moved north from the Louisiana coast, passing over central Kentucky. The large size of the storm, combined with its relatively slow movement, contributed to excessive rainfall in excess of 4 inches. The heaviest rainfall was southeast of a line from Mayfield to Owensboro, where 4 to 8 inches fell. The heaviest total was 8.17 inches at the Paradise Steam Plant on the Green River in Muhlenberg County. A co-operative observer measured 8.04 inches at Herndon in Christian County. The next five heaviest totals were 6.26 inches at Hopkinsville (Christian County), 6.50 inches at the Green River Power Plant (Muhlenberg County), 5.88 inches at Canton (Trigg County), 5.73 inches at Cadiz (Trigg County), and 5.34 inches at New Concord (Calloway County). The flooding was mitigated by the ability of the drought-stricken soil to absorb rainfall. Street flooding was the main problem. Portions of several state highways were flooded in Todd County, including Highways 181, 79, 41, 346, and 848. In Calloway County, seven inches of water covered Highway 121 south of New Concord. Several secondary roads were closed in Christian County. Water entered the Trigg County courthouse.

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 Sep 26, 1:40 PM CST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 26, 1:40 PM CST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
240 PM CDT THU SEP 26 2002

MAIN FORECAST QUESTIONS CONTINUE TO BE RAIN AMOUNTS OVERNIGHT INTO
EARLY FRIDAY AND FLOODING POTENTIAL.

LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS ISIDORE CENTERED OVER SOUTH CENTRAL
MISSISSIPPI.  RAINFALL ACROSS THE PAH FORECAST AREA HAS BEEN MAINLY
CONFINED TO THE SOUTHEAST HALF...WITH RADAR ESTIMATED STORM TOTALS
OF ONE HALF TO ONE AND A HALF INCHES OVER EXTREME SOUTHEAST PORTION
OF FA.  ENTIRE AREA OF RAIN HAD A DIFFICULT TIME SPREADING NORTHWEST
THIS MORNING...BUT NOW IS FINALLY MAKING PROGRESS.

MODELS REMAIN CONSISTENT...WITH THE AVN STILL MOVING ISIDORE A
LITTLE FASTER NORTHEAST THAN THE ETA/MESOETA.  CURRENT PRECIP AREAL
COVERAGE SEEMS TO BE PRETTY WELL COVERED BY THE AVN SOLUTION.
HIGHEST QPF AMOUNTS STILL LOOK LIKE THEY WILL BE OVER WEST KENTUCKY
INTO SOUTHWEST INDIANA THROUGH 18Z FRIDAY...WITH THE AVN PUTTING A
LITTLE MORE EMPHASIS OVER SOUTHWEST INDIANA THAN THE ETA.  MODELS
ALL MOVE THE SYSTEM OUT OF THE AREA QUICKLY FRIDAY AFTERNOON...WITH
POSSIBLY SOME LINGERING PRECIP IN EASTERN MOST AREAS INTO EARLY
FRIDAY AFTERNOON.  PRECIP TOTALS ACROSS MOST OF WEST KENTUCKY AND
SOUTHWEST INDIANA ARE PUSHING FLOOD GUIDANCE...AND THE EXCESSIVE
RAINFALL OUTLOOK HAS POTENTIAL FOR GREATER THAN 4 INCHES OVER THESE
SAME AREAS.  AREA CURRENTLY COVERED BY WATCH STILL LOOKS GOOD AND
WILL JUST EXTEND THE WATCH AREA A LITTLE FARTHER NORTHWEST...
BASICALLY ALONG AND SOUTHEAST OF A MAYFIELD KY...TO EVANSVILLE
IN...TO PETERSBURG IN LINE.

LOOKING AT NEAR TERM TEMPS...GOING PACKAGE LINES UP PRETTY WELL WITH
COOLER MAV VALUES.  WILL ONLY MAKE MINOR ADJUSTMENTS.

IN THE EXTENDED...HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT BEGINS TO BULGE (AVN) ALONG
THE SE COAST. THIS SHOULD BEGIN TO DRAW MOISTURE NORTH FROM THE GULF
OF MEXICO. INDEED...SURFACE GRADIENT SUGGEST A GULF OF MEXICO FETCH
BY TUE AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...WITH SURFACE RIDGING OVER THE LOWER TN
VALLEY...AM RELUCTANT TO INTRODUCE RAIN CHANCES YET. WILL JUST BEEF
UP CLOUDS RIGHT NOW. AVN BRINGS ANOTHER TROPICAL SYSTEM INTO THE
NORTHERN GULF WED. EVEN IF THIS FAILS TO MATERIALIZE...NEXT S/W TROF
AND SURFACE FRONT WILL BE APPROACHING WED/THU TIME FRAME...SO THINK
CHC OF RAIN IS WARRANTED.

.PAH...FLOOD WATCH TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING ALONG AND
SOUTHEAST OF A MAYFIELD KY TO EVANSVILLE IN TO PETERSBURG IN LINE.

THANKS TO SDF...BNA FOR FLOOD WATCH COORDINATION EFFORTS.

RSU/MEFFERT

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Todd

When: September 26, 5:55 PM CST to September 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Todd County, Countywide
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 36.836, -87.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Christian

When: September 26, 7:55 PM CST to September 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Christian County, Countywide
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 36.894, -87.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Trigg

When: September 26, 9:45 PM CST to September 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Trigg County, Cadiz
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.806, -87.873 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Calloway

When: September 26, 9:50 PM CST to September 27, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Calloway County, 2 mi S of New Concord
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.621, -88.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Graves

When: September 26, 10:00 PM CST to September 27, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Graves County, Tri City
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.723, -88.651 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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, September 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: 5316552, 5316551, 5316553, 5316550, 5316554.