Kentucky, 2004

Flooding in Kentucky, September 22 to 27, 2004

September 22 to 27, 2004 · NWS PAH · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Despite very dry weather in September, the Ohio River rose above flood stage at several gage points, mostly above the confluence with the Wabash River. The flooding was due to copious rainfall in the upper Ohio Valley from the remnants of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
$5.5 million
Events
2

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.

Despite very dry weather in September, the Ohio River rose above flood stage at several gage points, mostly above the confluence with the Wabash River. The flooding was due to copious rainfall in the upper Ohio Valley from the remnants of Hurricanes Frances and Ivan. Around 20,000 acres of soybeans were estimated to be under water in Henderson and Daviess Counties. This translates into an estimated crop loss of several million dollars. Most of the corn crop was mature enough to be harvested before the flooding. Nearly all of the acreage flooded by the river was uninhabited bottomland or cropland. At Newburgh Lock on the Indiana side, the river crested at 41.36 feet on the evening of the 24th. This is about 3 feet above the 38-foot flood stage. At Mount Vernon, Indiana, the river crested at 35.9 feet on the afternoon of the 25th. Flood stage at Mount Vernon is 35 feet. Much of the cropland flooding in Daviess County was in the Stanley and Maceo areas.

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 22, 2:45 AM CST, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 22, 2:45 AM CST, 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
345 AM CDT WED SEP 22 2004

.DISCUSSION...
LITTLE CHANGE TO GOING FORECAST. PERSISTENT RIDGE EAST...TROF WEST.
HIGH PRESSURE KEEPING CONDITIONS DRY. MAY BE A SLIGHT INCREASE IN
HIGH CLOUDS WITH TIME...THEN LOWER CLOUDS WHEN RETURN MOIST FLOW
GETS GOING AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING FRONT LATE THUR NIGHT INTO FRI.
WILL MAINTAIN SLIGHT CHC POPS FRI AND FRI NIGHT AS THE WEAKENING
FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE FA. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THE FRONT GOES
THROUGH DRY. BUT...ETA CONTINUES TO PAINT SCANT QPF ACROSS THE
FA...EVEN INTO FRI NIGHT. GOING 20 POP NOT WORTH CHANGING AT THIS
TIME. AFTER THAT...HIGH PRESSURE TAKES HOLD AGAIN...WITH DRY
CONDITIONS EXPECTED OVER THE WEEKEND...AND EVEN INTO EARLY NEXT
WEEK.

&&

.PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KY...NONE.
MO...NONE.
IL...NONE.
IN...NONE.

&&

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Daviess

When
September 22, 3:00 AM CST to September 27, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Daviess forecast zone
Crop damage
$2.0 million
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
37.732, -87.087 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Henderson

When
September 22, 3:00 AM CST to September 27, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Henderson forecast zone
Crop damage
$3.5 million
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
37.796, -87.573 (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

More

Every storm in Kentucky in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, September 2004

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: 5421341, 5421342.