Flash Flood in Kentucky, June 17, 2003

Name: Flash Flood in Kentucky, June 17, 2003
Start: 2003-06-17T09:02
End: 2003-06-17T10:30
Location: Kentucky

June 17, 2003 · NWS JKL · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flash 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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 Jackson, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 17, 6:19 AM EST, 2 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 17, 6:19 AM EST, 2 hours 43 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED TO INCLUDE FLOOD WATCH INFO
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY
719 AM EDT TUE JUN 17 2003

FORECAST DISCUSSION IS DELAYED THIS MORNING DUE TO THE MORE URGENT
MATTER OF FLASH FLOODING. 3 WARNINGS OUT AND 2 VERIFIED.

SAME OLD SCENARIO TO START THE DAY TODAY...WITH MOISTURE ALL THE WAY
TO THE STRATOSPHERE...AND A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY IN THE AREA. THE
FLOODING RAINS IN THE NORTH WERE CAUSED BY RELATIVELY LOW TOPPED
CONVECTION SET OFF AT THE TAIL OF A SHORT WAVE EVIDENCED ON WATER
VAPOR IMAGERY.

ANOTHER LARGER WAVE IS ROTATING THROUGH THE MIDWEST IN THE NORTHERN
STREAM. IT WILL BRING DRIER AIR IN AT THE MID AND UPPER
LEVELS...WHICH WILL START TO LOWER OUR PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES
FROM NORTH TO SOUTH TODAY. THIS WILL BE THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR
THE HEAVY RAIN THREAT. HOWEVER...LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL
REMAIN...AND MORE SHOWERS AND STORMS ARE A GOOD BET. WITH FFG VALUES
RUNNING GENERALLY A HALF INCH TO AN INCH IN AN HOUR AND FLOODING
ONGOING...HAVE EXTENDED THE FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THE DAY. WILL LET
DAY SHIFT EVALUATE THE THREAT FOR TONIGHT.

TONIGHT THE SHORTWAVE SLIPS TO OUR EAST AND WE SHOULD SEE LESS IN
THE WAY OF CONVECTION DURING THE NIGHT. HOWEVER...WITH LOW LEVEL
MOISTURE LINGERING...SO WILL INSTABILITY...AND WILL CARRY A CHANCE
OF SHOWERS AND STORMS UNTIL A SIGNIFICANT COLD FRONT PASSES LATE
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. AFTER THIS...A BREATHER AS HIGH
PRESSURE WITH MUCH DRIER AIR SHOULD BUILD IN FROM THE NORTH.

.JKL...FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 6 PM TODAY FOR ENTIRE AREA.

HAL

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PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS FOLLOW
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1008 PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

IT APPEARS SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY IS UNDER THE GUN FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF
HEAVY RAINS/FLOODING OVERNIGHT. LATEST WATER VAPOR SAT PIX INDICATE
A HEALTHY SHORTWAVE RIDING NORTHEAST THROUGH SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE
PLUME INTO SOUTHERN KENTUCKY. 18Z MESOETA GENERATES LIFT ACROSS THE
REGION AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE...SO NEEDLESS TO SAY WE WILL CONTINUE
WITH THE FLOOD WATCH FOR FLASH FLOODING TONIGHT. OTHERWISE...ONLY
CHANGES MADE TO THE ZONES WILL BE TO ADD MENTION OF FOG AS MOIST
GROUND/LIGHT WINDS WILL ALLOW FOG TO QUICKLY FROM DURING BREAKS FROM
PCPN. ALSO...CONVECTION OVERNIGHT MAY BE STRONGER THAN IN PREVIOUS
NIGHT/S AS LAPS DATA INDICATES ELEVATED LI/S HAVE BEEN FALLING WITH
TIME...WITH 850MB LI/S NOW BELOW ZERO FOR MUCH OF THE AREA.

HYSELL

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230  PM EDT MON JUN 16 2003

WATER VAPOR REVEALS AN AREA OF SEVERAL SMALL PERTURBATIONS OF WEAK
POSITIVE VORTICITY STREAMING FROM THE LOWER MS VALLEY ALL THE WAY UP
TO OUR REGION. DEEP MOISTURE AND A WEEK SURFACE BOUNDARY IN THE AREA
WILL CONTINUE TO PROVE PROBLEMATIC...WILL EXTEND FLOOD WATCH THROUGH
6 AM THIS MORNING BECAUSE OF THIS.   EXPECTING MUCH OF THE SAME ON
TUESDAY AS A WELL DEFINED SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY NEAR THE WI/IL BORDER
WILL DROP DOWN AND INTO THE OHIO VALLEY.  WE SHOULD BE ON THE
SOUTHERN EDGE OF THIS ENERGY TO PROVIDE ANOTHER GOOD CHANCE FOR
PRECIP...BUT NOT SURE IF PRECIP WILL BE AS HEAVY AS TODAY.  MOS POPS
AND TEMPS LOOK FAIRLY CLOSE TO REASONABLE.  KEPT SUNDAY IN SLIGHT
POP AND INTRODUCED CHANCE POPS FOR MONDAY MOISTURE STARTS TO STREAM
IN FROM THE SOUTH ONCE AGAIN.

HEINLEIN

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 17, 5:12 AM EST, 3 hours 50 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON, KY
612 AM EDT TUE JUN 17 2003

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

0550 AM    WRIGLEY                   KY   FLASH FLOODS
06/17/03   MORGAN                         DISPATCH REPORTED ONE FOOT
                                          RUNNING WATER ACROSS KY HWY
                                          7 AND HWY 711. DEBRIS
                                          FLOWING ACROSS ROAD.

0605 AM    WRIGLEY                   KY   FLASH FLOODS
06/17/03   MORGAN                         DISPATCH REPORTED TREES
                                          BEING WASHED OUT AND TAKING
                                          DOWN POWER LINES.

RAY

Local storm report, Jun 17, 5:51 AM EST, 3 hours 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON, KY
651 AM EDT TUE JUN 17 2003

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

0615 AM    5  SW SANDY HOOK          KY   FLASH FLOODS
06/17/03   ELLIOTT                        DISPATCH REPORTED RUNNING
                                          WATER ACROSS KENTUCKY
                                          HIGHWAY 7 NEAR SANDY HOOK.
                                          DISPATCH ALSO REPORTED THAT
                                          HIGHWAY 7 WAS BEING CLOSED.

RAY

The radar

The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 41 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:03 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Knott

When: June 17, 9:02 AM EST to 10:30 AM EST
Where: Knott County, Hindman
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 37.354, -82.954 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Water was flowing across Kentucky Highway 60.

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Kentucky, June 2003

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: 5362870.