On September 18, 2004 at approximately 10:47 pm EST, a 20 year old man drowned while attempting to drive his vehicle through flood waters on Highway 459, near the junction of Bull Run road, 5 miles southwest of Barbourville. The road was closed at the time of the incident.
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.
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 episode as NWS JKL wrote it up.
On September 18, 2004 at approximately 10:47 pm EST, a 20 year old man drowned while attempting to drive his vehicle through flood waters on Highway 459, near the junction of Bull Run road, 5 miles southwest of Barbourville. The road was closed at the time of the incident. Four feet of water over a bridge near Central Elementary School in Corbin. Highway 66, nine miles north of Pineville, had water flowing over it. Highway 229 blocked by high water. Stinking Creek and Little Brush Creek Roads also flooded. Highway 225, one mile from Warren Camp underwater. Three homes flooded on Big Bush Creek Road. Highway 1527 also underwater.
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.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 459 PM EDT THU SEP 16 2004 KYZ080-084>088-107-109-110-112>120-171100- BELL KY-BREATHITT KY-CLAY KY-FLOYD KY-HARLAN KY-JOHNSON KY-KNOTT KY- KNOX KY-LAUREL KY-LESLIE KY-LETCHER KY-MAGOFFIN KY-MARTIN KY- MCCREARY KY-OWSLEY KY-PERRY KY-PIKE KY-WHITLEY KY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BARBOURVILLE...BOONEVILLE...HARLAN... HAZARD...HINDMAN...HYDEN...INEZ...JACKSON...LONDON...MANCHESTER... MIDDLESBORO...PAINTSVILLE...PIKEVILLE...PINEVILLE...PRESTONSBURG... SALYERSVILLE...WHITESBURG...WHITLEY CITY AND WILLIAMSBURG 459 PM EDT THU SEP 16 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EXTREME EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS AND PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN TONIGHT AS THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM IVAN TRACK INTO EASTERN KENTUCKY. AREA LAKES MAY SEE WINDS GUSTING TO 40 MPH TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM IVAN WILL LIKELY BRING HEAVY RAINFALL TO THE EASTERN KENTUCKY FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THERE WILL BE A RISK FOR FLASH FLOODING FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...AND A RISK OF RIVER FLOODING FOR SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THERE IS ALSO A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT. AREA LAKES MAY SEE WINDS GUSTING TO 40 MPH THROUGH 9 PM EDT FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ASSISTANCE...INCLUDING REPORTS OF RAINFALL AMOUNTS AND ROAD CLOSURES...WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED WHEN HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLOODING MATERIALIZE DURING THE PERIOD OF THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-083-104-106-108-111-171100- BATH KY-ELLIOTT KY-ESTILL KY-FLEMING KY-JACKSON KY-LEE KY-MENIFEE KY- MONTGOMERY KY-MORGAN KY-POWELL KY-PULASKI KY-ROCKCASTLE KY-ROWAN KY- WAYNE KY-WOLFE KY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BEATTYVILLE...CAMPTON...FLEMINGSBURG... FRENCHBURG...IRVINE...MCKEE...MONTICELLO...MOREHEAD... MOUNT STERLING...MOUNT VERNON...OWINGSVILLE...SANDY HOOK... SOMERSET...STANTON AND WEST LIBERTY 459 PM EDT THU SEP 16 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AND PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN TONIGHT AS THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM IVAN APPROACH SOUTHEASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM IVAN WILL LIKELY BRING HEAVY RAINFALL TO THE EASTERN KENTUCKY FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THERE WILL BE A RISK FOR FLASH FLOODING FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...AND A RISK OF RIVER FLOODING FOR SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THERE IS ALSO A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ASSISTANCE...INCLUDING REPORTS OF RAINFALL AMOUNTS AND ROAD CLOSURES...WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED WHEN HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLOODING MATERIALIZE DURING THE PERIOD OF THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. DUSTY
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY
709 AM EDT FRI SEP 17 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0550 AM FLOOD VICTORY 37.26N 84.10W
09/17/2004 LAUREL KY CO-OP OBSERVER
ONE FOOT OF WATER FLOWING WATER OVER THE ROAD WASHED CAR
OFF OF PAVEMENT.
0702 AM FLOOD VICTORY 37.26N 84.10W
09/17/2004 LAUREL KY LAW ENFORCEMENT
WATER RUNNING THROUGH HOME ON VICTORY ROAD JUST OFF OF
HIGHWAY 490.
&&
PIEPERThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flood, Knox | 2004-09-18 | 20 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, September 2004
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: 5421854, 5421855, 5421856, 5421857, 5421858.