Runoff from ice and snow at the end of January followed by rain resulted in minor flooding along the Green River near Rochester.
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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 LMK wrote it up.
Runoff from ice and snow at the end of January followed by rain resulted in minor flooding along the Green River near Rochester.
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 Louisville, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 11:09 PM CST, 51 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 1209 AM EST SUN FEB 1 2009 .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT AND SUNDAY)... STRONG WARM AIR ADVECTION WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY TONIGHT AND SUNDAY AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT. GOOD MIXING THIS AFTERNOON HAS ALLOWED SKIES TO REMAIN CLEAR BUT I AM LOOKING FOR A LOW STRATUS DECK TO DEVELOP UNDER THE INVERSION TONIGHT ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA WHERE SNOW AND ICE ARE STILL ON THE GROUND. WILL KEEP SKIES CLEAR ACROSS THE SOUTH. THE LOW LEVEL WINDS REALLY CRANK UP TONIGHT WITH WINDS ABOVE 40KTS AT 2K FT. SURFACE WINDS SHOULD REMAIN AROUND 10 KTS. WARM AIR ADVECTION OVERNIGHT WILL SERVE TO HOLD TEMPERATURES UP WITH READINGS IN MOST LOCATIONS AROUND THE FREEZING MARK. I EXPECT THE LOW CLOUDS WILL DISSIPATE SUNDAY MORNING AS TEMPERATURES QUICKLY WARM WELL ABOVE 32 DEGREES. WE WILL HOLD TEMPERATURES WELL BELOW GUIDANCE VALUES OVER THE NORTH SUNDAY BUT STILL READINGS THERE SHOULD WARM INTO THE MID 40S WITH MID 50S EXPECTED ACROSS THE SOUTH. A DRY COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE REGION LATE IN THE DAY. .LONG TERM (SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY)... SUNDAY NIGHT-MONDAY... WELL OUR POTENTIAL WINTER STORM WILL BECOME ONE FOR THE NEW ENGLAND STATES...AND WILL BARELY SCRAPE OUR SERN CWA. A SFC LOW WILL DEEPEN OVER THE GULF AND RIDE UP THE EAST COAST. ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE LOW...A WEAK DEFORMATION ZONE SETS UP SUNDAY NIGHT-MONDAY MORNING MAINLY ACROSS OUR ERN CWA. THIS WOULD BE A LIGHT RAIN/SNOW MIX THEN ALL SNOW IF IT EVEN REACHES BACK AS FAR WEST AS OUR CWA...BUT WILL HOLD ONTO SLIGHT TO LOW CHC POPS AND LITTLE TO NO ACCUMULATIONS. MONDAY NIGHT-WEDNESDAY NIGHT... LARGE TRAILING UPPER TROUGH WILL DIVE DOWN ACROSS THE ERN HALF OF THE U.S. AND WILL DOMINATE OUR WEATHER DURING THIS TIME FRAME UNDER A COLD NORTHWEST FLOW. UNDER THIS COLD NW FLOW...SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS LOOK POSSIBLE ON AND OFF THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...WITH THE BEST CHANCE BEING ACROSS THE NERN CWA ON TUESDAY. MAY ACTUALLY GET LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS FROM THESE ON AND OFF AGAIN SNOW SHOWERS BY LATE TUESDAY NIGHT. ACCUMULATIONS WOULD BE SIMILAR TO FRIDAY WHERE A LIGHT DUSTING TO AROUND AN INCH AND A HALF OF SNOW FELL. BUT SINCE THIS WILL BE OVER THE SPAN OF 36 HOURS...DO NOT SEE ANY MAJOR HAZARDS OTHER THAN THE INCONVENIENCE OF SLICK ROADWAYS AND REDUCED VSBYS FROM THE SNOW. WILL GO A FEW DEGREES BELOW MOS GUIDANCE FOR HIGHS AND LOWS OVER THE NERN/ERN CWA DURING THIS TIME PERIOD BANKING ON A BIT OF ADDITIONAL SNOW COVER. WILL CARRY THE HIGHEST POPS TUESDAY ACROSS THE ERN/NERN CWA. THURSDAY-SATURDAY... A PATTERN CHANGE WILL TAKE PLACE LATE NEXT WEEK...WITH NORTHWEST FLOW CHANGING INTO A MAINLY ZONAL FLOW BY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. THURSDAY WILL BE DRY IN THIS TRANSITION AS HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE PLAINS PUSHES INTO THE REGION. THE EURO AND GFS DIFFER FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY A BIT. GFS PUSHES THE SFC HIGH EASTWARD...ALLOWING A CENTRAL PLAINS LOW TO MOVE TOWARD THE REGION BY SATURDAY MORNING. GFS HAS BEEN CONSISTENT IN THE PAST THREE MODEL RUNS IN GENERATING QPF FOR OUR CWA WITH THIS LOW. HOWEVER...THE EURO HAS A MORE AMPLIFIED PATTERN FROM THE DEEPER LOW OFF THE SWRN CONUS...AND TAKES THE CENTRAL PLAINS LOW UP TO THE UPPER GREAT LAKES...KEEPING US DRY THROUGH SATURDAY. A FEW GFS ENSEMBLE MEMBERS HINT AT A LITTLE QPF MAINLY ACROSS THE NRN OR WRN CWA...SO WILL INSERT SLIGHT CHC POPS INTO GRIDS FOR SAT/SAT NIGHT. && .AVIATION (06Z TAFS)... WIND WILL BE THE MAIN AVIATION CONCERN DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST AND THE PRESSURE GRADIENT REMAINS TIGHT BETWEEN IT AND HIGH PRESSURE OFF THE SOUTHEAST COAST WE CAN EXPECT SSW WINDS OF 10 TO 15 KNOTS. A LOW LEVEL JET WILL CREATE LLWS WITH WIND SPEEDS OF 35 TO 45KT 2000 FEET OFF THE SURFACE. MODELS ARE ACTUALLY PAINTING STRONGER WINDS THAN THAT...BUT THEY WERE INITIALIZING TOO STRONG COMPARED TO KLVX VWP DATA SO THE LLWS IN THE TAFS ISN/T QUITE AS VIGOROUS AS THE MODELS SUGGEST. THE FRONT TO OUR NORTHWEST WILL CONTINUE ITS ADVANCEMENT AND WILL CROSS THE TAF SITES 21Z-23Z. THE FRONT IS STARVED FOR MOISTURE WITH LEX STANDING THE BEST SHOT AT PRECIPITATION...BUT EVEN THERE THE CHANCE OF ANYTHING MORE THAN SPRINKLES IS VERY SLIM. SO...WILL HAVE DRY VFR CONDITIONS FOR THE ENTIRE TAF PERIOD. && .LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. IN...NONE. && SHORT TERM...JA LONG TERM...AL AVIATION...13
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 315 PM EST SAT JAN 31 2009 INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067- 070>078-081-082-010930- ORANGE IN-WASHINGTON IN-SCOTT IN-JEFFERSON IN-DUBOIS IN- CRAWFORD IN-PERRY IN-HARRISON IN-FLOYD IN-CLARK IN-HANCOCK KY- BRECKINRIDGE KY-MEADE KY-OHIO KY-GRAYSON KY-HARDIN KY-BULLITT KY- JEFFERSON KY-OLDHAM KY-TRIMBLE KY-HENRY KY-SHELBY KY-FRANKLIN KY- SCOTT KY-HARRISON KY-SPENCER KY-ANDERSON KY-WOODFORD KY- FAYETTE KY-BOURBON KY-NICHOLAS KY-NELSON KY-WASHINGTON KY- MERCER KY-JESSAMINE KY-CLARK KY-LARUE KY-MARION KY-BOYLE KY- GARRARD KY-MADISON KY-BUTLER KY-EDMONSON KY-HART KY-GREEN KY- TAYLOR KY-CASEY KY-LINCOLN KY-LOGAN KY-WARREN KY-SIMPSON KY- ALLEN KY-BARREN KY-MONROE KY-METCALFE KY-ADAIR KY-RUSSELL KY- CUMBERLAND KY-CLINTON KY- 315 PM EST (215 PM CST) SAT JAN 31 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH THE REGION SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY...WHERE A RAIN/SNOW MIX WILL DEVELOP SUNDAY NIGHT...AND WILL CHANGEOVER TO LIGHT SNOW OVER THE BLUEGRASS EARLY MONDAY. LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF A HALF INCH OR LESS WILL BE POSSIBLE EAST OF A LINE FROM FRANKFORT TO BOWLING GREEN. MOIST AND COLD NORTHWEST FLOW WILL THEN BRING A CHANCE FOR SCATTERED LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS FROM LATE MONDAY THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY...WITH THE BEST CHANCE OCCURING OVER THE NORTHERN BLUEGRASS DURING THIS TIME FRAME. AT THIS TIME THE MOST LIKELY PERIOD FOR MINOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. AL
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 935 PM EST SAT JAN 31 2009 INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-010600- ORANGE IN-WASHINGTON IN-SCOTT IN-JEFFERSON IN-DUBOIS IN- CRAWFORD IN-PERRY IN-HARRISON IN-FLOYD IN-CLARK IN-HANCOCK KY- BRECKINRIDGE KY-MEADE KY-OHIO KY-GRAYSON KY-HARDIN KY-BULLITT KY- JEFFERSON KY-OLDHAM KY-TRIMBLE KY-HENRY KY-SHELBY KY-FRANKLIN KY- SCOTT KY-HARRISON KY-SPENCER KY-ANDERSON KY-WOODFORD KY- FAYETTE KY-BOURBON KY-NICHOLAS KY-NELSON KY-WASHINGTON KY- MERCER KY-JESSAMINE KY-CLARK KY-LARUE KY-MARION KY-BOYLE KY- GARRARD KY-MADISON KY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PAOLI...SALEM...SCOTTSBURG...MADISON... JASPER...MARENGO...TELL CITY...CORYDON...NEW ALBANY... JEFFERSONVILLE...HAWESVILLE...HARDINSBURG...BRANDENBURG... BEAVER DAM...LEITCHFIELD...ELIZABETHTOWN...FORT KNOX... MOUNT WASHINGTON...SHEPHERDSVILLE...LOUISVILLE...LA GRANGE... BEDFORD...NEW CASTLE...SHELBYVILLE...FRANKFORT...GEORGETOWN... CYNTHIANA...TAYLORSVILLE...LAWRENCEBURG...VERSAILLES... LEXINGTON...PARIS...CARLISLE...BARDSTOWN...SPRINGFIELD... HARRODSBURG...NICHOLASVILLE...WINCHESTER...HODGENVILLE... LEBANON...DANVILLE...LANCASTER...RICHMOND 935 PM EST SAT JAN 31 2009 /835 PM CST SAT JAN 31 2009/ ...FALLING ICE DUE TO MELTING IS CAUSING A POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS SITUATION... TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN ABOVE FREEZING TONIGHT AND WILL CAUSE ICE THAT HAS ACCUMULATED ON BUILDINGS...POWER LINES...AND TREES TO CONTINUE TO MELT. AS A RESULT...LARGE PIECES OF ICE WILL FALL TO THE GROUND. THE MELTING AND FALLING OF ICE CAN ALSO CAUSE TREES AND POWER LINES TO SPRING BACK QUICKLY. IF WORKING OUTDOORS...BE AWARE THAT FALLING ICE CAN BE A SERIOUS HAZARD. USE CAUTION IF WORKING UNDER TREES...POWER LINES...AND BUILDINGS. FALLING ICE CAN ALSO BE HAZARDOUS WHILE DRIVING. USE CAUTION IF DRIVING ALONG TREE LINED ROADWAYS AS FALLING ICE COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO CARS AND WINDSHIELDS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Green River at Rochester began flooding on January 29th at 0600 and stayed above flood stage, which is 17 feet, until February 3rd at 1630. The river crested at 20.4 feet, 3.4 feet above flood stage, on February 1st at 1200.
The Green River at Woodbury began flooding on January 30th at 0410. The river crested on January 30th at 1200 at 39.0 feet, 6 feet above flood stage, and remained above flood stage until February 2nd at 0845.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, February 2009
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: 155679, 155682.