Several rounds of heavy rain over much of the Mississippi River Valley caused many rivers to rise above flood stage. May continued the active pattern begun in April.
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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 PAH wrote it up.
Several rounds of heavy rain over much of the Mississippi River Valley caused many rivers to rise above flood stage. May continued the active pattern begun in April. Several of these events produced very heavy rainfall. Rainfall was one to two inches above normal in most spots for the month.
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 May 7, 1:46 PM CST, 8 hours 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 246 PM CDT THU MAY 7 2009 .DISCUSSION / TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY... LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARY STALLED OVER THE FA. THE BOUNDARY WAS MAINLY EVIDENT VIA PRESSURE GRADIENT AND STREAMLINE WINDS. VIS SAT LOOP DEPICTS AREA OF CLOUDS ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAK VORT MAX ABOUT TO EXIT TO THE EAST OF THE AREA. THIS WAS ALSO SUPPORTED WELL WITH THE REGIONAL RADAR LOOP. SLIGHT PLACEMENT AND QPF DISCREPANCIES AMONG THE 12Z THU MODEL RUNS AND THE 00Z THU ECMWF RUN INCLUDED. OPTED TO GO WITH A HYBRID QPF BETWEEN THE 12Z GFS...00Z THU ECMWF...HPCQPF...AND COLLABORATION. AT THIS POINT AM EXPECTING AN MCS TO DEVELOP OVER SW MO OVERNIGHT AND MAKE ITS WAY INTO PAH FA AROUND SUNRISE AND RESULT IN ONE TO TWO INCHES OVER MOST OF THE FA FRIDAY. WITH SOME LINGERING QPF INTO THE EVENING HOURS. CURRENTLY CONSIDERING A FLASH FLOOD WATCH. WILL WAIT FOR THE 12Z ECMWF AND POSSIBLY THE 18Z MODEL RUNS WHICH WILL BE MORE FOR THE EVENING SHIFT. HOWEVER WILL MONITOR AND MAKE CALL CLOSER TO PRESS TIME. AS FOR TEMPS AND WINDS NOT MANY CHANGES JUST MINOR TWEAKS FOR MAINLY COLLABORATION PURPOSES. DISCUSSION / SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY... NOT MUCH REST FOR THE WEARY IN THE EXTENDED PERIODS. RW/TRW MAY LINGER INTO SUNDAY NIGHT AS RIPPLES OF UPPER LEVEL ENERGY TAP INTO DECENT POST FRONTAL MOISTURE. HIGH PRESSURE OVERSPREADING THE REGION SHOULD KEEP THE REGION DRY MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON MODELS PUSH PRECIP CHANCES INTO OUR FAR WESTERN COUNTIES AS THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM BEGINS TO MOVE OUT OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS. TUESDAY NIGHT PRECIP (SCHC/CHC POPS) WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS ALL OF THE CWA...BUT WITH THE FRINGES OF AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE PUSHING NORTHWARD INTO THE REGION...THE BETTER CHANCES SHOULD BE ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA. ON WEDNESDAY THE UPPER RIDGE GET SUPPRESSED SOMEWHAT AS THE SYSTEM APPROACHES...WHICH SHOULD ALLOW FOR SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCES FOR PRECIP. FLOW ALOFT REMAINS NEARLY PARALLEL TO THE FRONT SO THIS SYSTEM WILL ALSO BE VERY SLOW MOVING. PRECIP CHANCES INCREASE WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY AS THE SYSTEM SLOWLY DRAGS ACROSS THE REGION. && .AVIATION... IFR CIGS AND VSBY WERE LIFTING AT KEVV AND KOWB. EXPECT VFR CIGS AND VSBY TO PERSIST WITH THE EXCEPTION OF POSSIBLE TSRA NEAR KEVV AND KOWB THIS AFTN. BRING IN LOW DECK OVNGT BUT KEEP IT MAINLY VFR AGAIN WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TSRA/SHRA AFTER MIDNIGHT. BROUGHT IN PREDOMINANT TSRA AFTER 12Z ALL SITES. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && KH/JAP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 323 PM CDT THU MAY 7 2009 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-082030- JEFFERSON-WAYNE IL-EDWARDS-WABASH-PERRY IL-FRANKLIN-HAMILTON- WHITE-JACKSON-WILLIAMSON-SALINE-GALLATIN-UNION IL-JOHNSON-POPE- HARDIN-ALEXANDER-PULASKI-MASSAC-GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-VANDERBURGH- WARRICK-SPENCER-FULTON-HICKMAN-CARLISLE-BALLARD-MCCRACKEN-GRAVES- LIVINGSTON-MARSHALL-CALLOWAY-CRITTENDEN-LYON-TRIGG-CALDWELL- UNION KY-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-HENDERSON-DAVIESS-MCLEAN- MUHLENBERG-TODD-PERRY MO-BOLLINGER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-WAYNE MO-CARTER- RIPLEY-BUTLER-STODDARD-SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID- 323 PM CDT THU MAY 7 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. LATE TONIGHT A COMPLEX OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO PUSH EASTWARD INTO PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. MANY AREA RIVERS WILL CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE MINOR TO MODERATE FLOODING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY ON FRIDAY A COMPLEX OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO PUSH EASTWARD ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SATURDAY NIGHT...MONDAY...AND MONDAY NIGHT...THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE EACH DAY AS TWO SLOW MOVING FRONTAL SYSTEMS AFFECT THE REGION. MANY AREA RIVERS WILL CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE MINOR TO MODERATE FLOODING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATE TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY. JP
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding of the Mississippi River occurred for most of the month of May. At the New Madrid, Missouri gage, where flood stage is 34 feet, the river crested at 39.11 feet on the 15th. Agricultural bottomland and low-lying areas were flooded.
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, May 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: 166077.