Kentucky, 2002

Flood in Kentucky, September 27 to 30, 2002

September 27 to 30, 2002 · NWS PAH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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 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 27, 12:55 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 27, 12:55 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
155 AM CDT FRI SEP 27 2002

HEAVY RAINFALL EVENT ASSOCIATED WITH THE REMAINS OF ISIDORE HAS
PANNED OUT VERY WELL. RAINFALL AMOUNTS THRU 06Z RANGED FROM BARELY
MEASURABLE AT POF TO 5.42 INCHES AT HOP. AVN HANDLING OF THIS SYSTEM
HAS BEEN FAR SUPERIOR TO EITHER ETA/NGM...SO THIS LOOKS LIKE THE
MODEL TO STICK WITH. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS THE CIRCULATION CENTER
IN THE VICINITY OF SRN MIDDLE TENNESSEE...MUCH CLOSER TO AVN/RUC
THAN THE ETA. THE SYSTEM IS MOVING RATHER QUICKLY...AND THE BACK
EDGE OF THE RAIN IS ALREADY MOVING EASTWARD ACROSS THE PAH AREA.

AVN TAKES THE CENTER OF ISIDORE TO SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY AT
12Z...AND ALL THE WAY TO SE OHIO BY 18Z. THE BACK EDGE OF THE RAIN
SHIELD...WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MID LEVEL DEFORMATION
ZONE...CLEARS PAH EASILY BY 12Z AND EVV AREA BY 15Z. THIS MAKES THE
FLOOD WATCH OBSOLETE...SINCE MOST OF THE RAIN HAS FALLEN AND FLOOD
WARNINGS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ISSUED FOR PROBLEM AREAS. PLAN TO DROP
ALL WATCHES WITH THIS ZONE PACKAGE.

THE MAIN CONCERN FOR THE FIRST FEW PERIODS OF THE FORECAST IS LOW
CLOUDINESS AND FOG. ETA/NGM/AVN ALL INDICATE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL
BE SLOW TO LEAVE. AFTER THE LAST HEAVY RAINFALL EVENT ON
9/20...MODELS WERE A LITTLE TOO QUICK TO DRY OUT THE LOW LEVELS.
GIVEN THE VERY WET GROUND IN PLACE ACROSS WESTERN KY/SW
INDIANA...EXPECT PLENTY OF CU/SC TO FORM WHERE THE SUN MANAGES TO
COME OUT. FOR TONIGHT...A PRETTY GOOD SETUP FOR RADIATION FOG EXISTS
...WITH SURFACE WINDS BECOMING LIGHT AND THE GROUND STILL MOIST. IF
THE FOG LIFTS SLOWLY ENOUGH ON SATURDAY...THE MORNING COULD END UP
MOSTLY CLOUDY.

WITH LOTS OF LOW CLOUDINESS TODAY...WILL GO A LITTLE BELOW MOS
HIGHS. LOWS TONIGHT WILL BE NEAR ETA MOS...WHICH IS A COMPROMISE
BETWEEN NGM/AVN GUIDANCE. ETA MOS APPEARS TOO WARM ON SATURDAY /MID
80S/...SO WILL FOLLOW COOLER AVN/NGM MOS.

OVERALL...A NICE WEEKEND IS IN STORE AS HIGH PRESSURE PASSES NORTH
OF THE FORECAST AREA. MOST OF THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE SHOULD BE
HISTORY BY SUNDAY. A WARMING TREND WILL BEGIN AS A 500 MB RIDGE
BECOMES ESTABLISHED OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES.

AVN SHOWS MOISTURE RETURNING NORTHWARD AROUND THE BACK SIDE OF THE
MID LEVEL RIDGE LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY. THIS WOULD BRING SOME
CLOUDINESS...BUT THE AVN QPF IS SUSPECT SINCE THERE IS NO APPARENT
LIFTING MECHANISM. WILL KEEP IT DRY TUESDAY AND MAINTAIN POPS
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE PLAINS
AS THE MID LEVEL RIDGE IS SUPPRESSED SOUTHWARD.

.PAH...NONE.

MY

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Muhlenberg

When
September 27, 3:00 AM CST to September 30, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Muhlenberg forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
37.216, -87.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Green River rose above flood stage at the Paradise Steam Plant in response to very heavy rains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Isidore. About 8 inches of rain was measured by co-operative observers in parts of the Green River basin, including 8.17 inches at the Paradise Steam Plant. The river flooding was minor, cresting at 383.9 feet on September 29. Flood stage is 380 feet. The remnants of Isidore moved north from the Louisiana coast and across central Kentucky.

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

More

Every storm in Kentucky in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5316643.