A warm front to the south of the lower Ohio Valley, along with a cold front approaching from the west, set up a period of heavy rains over the area on March 8th through the 10th. Additional heavy rains on March 14th and 15 aggravated and extended flooding over the area.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 LMK wrote it up.
A warm front to the south of the lower Ohio Valley, along with a cold front approaching from the west, set up a period of heavy rains over the area on March 8th through the 10th. Additional heavy rains on March 14th and 15 aggravated and extended flooding over the area.
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 Mar 9, 11:48 AM CST, 2 hours 27 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 1248 PM EST WED MAR 9 2011 ...UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION... ...FORECAST UPDATE... UPDATE OUT. SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS WILL PRECEDE OCCLUDED FRONT THIS AFTERNOON...CURRENTLY APPROACHING EVV. ADDITIONAL RAIN WILL BE LIGHT WITH POCKETS OF MODERATE RAIN. OVERALL...SMALL STREAMS/CREEKS SHUD CONTINUE A SLOW RECEDE. FRONT WILL PASS A SDF TO BWG LINE BY LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVE AND LEX BY LATE EVE. .SHORT TERM (TODAY AND TONIGHT)... LOW PRESSURE JUST NORTH OF ST LOUIS AT 08Z WILL ADVANCE TO SOUTH OF CLEVELAND BY THE END OF THE SHORT TERM. ITS TRAILING COLD FRONT WILL ENTER THE LMK CWA FROM THE WEST AROUND MID AFTERNOON AND EXIT TO THE EAST MID EVENING. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS EARLY THIS MORNING WILL GRADUALLY BECOME MORE SCATTERED FROM WEST TO EAST AS DRY AIR WORKS IN AT THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE. MODELS ARE STILL SUGGESTING A NARROW LINE OF SHOWERS MAY GET FORCED JUST AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT THIS AFTERNOON. LOW AND MID LEVEL WINDS WILL BE DECREASING AND INSTABILITY IS VERY WEAK BY THEN BUT A FEW GUSTS COULD STILL BE PRODUCED BY THE STRONGEST SHOWERS...ALONG WITH ISOLATED PEA SIZED HAIL. THE BEST CHANCE FOR ANYTHING LIKE THIS WILL BE ALONG AND SOUTHEAST OF A LEX-BWG LINE FROM 20Z TO 03Z. IT LOOKS LIKE TODAY WILL BE CLOUDY BUT ANY BREAKS IN THE OVERCAST WILL ALLOW FOR MORE INSTABILITY TO BE REALIZED SO THAT WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED. QPF AMOUNTS OVERNIGHT HAVE BEEN HEAVIEST GENERALLY ALONG AND ABOUT 50 MILES EITHER SIDE OF THE OHIO RIVER WITH AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 1.25 INCHES. AMOUNTS HAVE TAPERED OFF TO AROUND A QUARTER TO A THIRD OF AN INCH IN THE SOUTH WHERE THE HEAVIEST RAINS HAVE NOT YET MADE IT AS OF 08Z. RAINS WILL OVERSPREAD THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA EARLY THIS MORNING. NEW QPF AMOUNTS FOR THE DAYLIGHT HOURS RIGHT NOW ARE PROGGED FROM AROUND A TENTH OF AN INCH IN THE FAR NORTHWEST TO AN INCH IN THE FAR SOUTHEAST. WHILE STREAMS IN THE AREA WILL CERTAINLY RESPOND TO THIS RAINFALL IT APPEARS PRECIPITATION TOTALS SHOULD REMAIN LOW ENOUGH AND BE SPREAD OUT OVER ENOUGH TIME THAT WIDESPREAD SIGNIFICANT FLOODING IS UNLIKELY. WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON AREA RIVERS. MAX TEMPS FOR TODAY HAVE BEEN DROPPED A COUPLE OF DEGREES GIVEN THE COOL RAINY START AND PERSISTENT OVERCAST EXPECTED TODAY PLUS LOOKING AT WHAT HIGH TEMPS WERE LIKE IN THE WARM SECTOR UPSTREAM YESTERDAY. TONIGHT WILL BE CLOUDY WITH JUST SOME SCATTERED VERY LIGHT PRECIPITATION. ANY PRECIPITATION WILL PRIMARILY BE IN THE FORM OF RAIN...THOUGH A FEW WET SNOWFLAKES CAN/T BE COMPLETELY RULED OUT ESPECIALLY NORTH OF A HAWESVILLE TO SCOTTSBURG LINE. TEMPERATURES WILL TUMBLE INTO THE MIDDLE AND UPPER 30S. .LONG TERM (THURSDAY - TUESDAY)... THURSDAY - SUNDAY... WE WILL BEGIN THE LONG TERM FORECAST PERIOD ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AFFECTING US TODAY WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINS. THE SIGNIFICANT RAIN WILL BE EAST OF OUR AREA BY THURS...BUT WE WILL GET INTO SOME MOISTURE AND A SHRT/WV ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE UPPER LEVEL LOW BRINGING MOSTLY SCATTERED RAIN FOR THURS/THURS EVENING. MOST SHORT RANGE MODELS DO LINGER PRECIP IN THE AREA THROUGH 6Z FRIDAY IN THE BLUEGRASS AREA SO DID ADD A 20 POP THERE. THURSDAY MORNING THERE COULD BE A MIX OF RAIN/SNOW OR RAIN/ICE PELLETS OVER SOUTHERN INDIANA AND PORTIONS OF KY WEST OF I-65 DEPENDING ON HOW FAST THAT COLDER AIR GETS IN THERE AND IF MOISTURE DOES TRULY END UP BEING DEEP ENOUGH FOR ICE CRYSTAL GROWTH. BOTH 0Z NAM AND GFS SOUNDINGS INDICATE A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR A SNOWFLAKE OR ICE PELLET WITH THIS RUN. ANY WINTRY PRECIP EXPERIENCED THURS MORNING IS NOT EXPECTED TO STICK TO THE GROUND OR CAUSE ANY PROBLEMS AS TEMPS AT THE SFC WILL BE ABOVE FREEZING. THEN THURS AFTERNOON/EVENING SHOULD BE ALL RAIN SHOWERS. FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY LOOK TO BE DRY FOR THE MOST PART WITH MORE ZONAL FLOW OVER THE MIDWEST AND SFC HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED TO OUR SOUTH. THE ONLY CHANCE FOR SOME LIGHT RAIN WOULD BE OVER OUR SOUTHEAST INDIANA COUNTIES AND EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL KY ON SAT AS A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SLIDES BY TO OUR NORTH. AS FOR TEMPS...LOOKS LIKE WE/LL ONLY REACH THE LOWER 40S FOR THURS WITH THE UPPER LEVEL LOW PASSING THROUGH WITH LOWER 30S FOR LOWS THURS NIGHT. WE/LL REBOUND INTO THE 50S FOR FRIDAY AND UPPER 50S TO AROUND 60 FOR HIGHS SATURDAY. AFTER A WEAK COOL FRONT PASSES WITH THE LOW PRESSURE ON SATURDAY...HIGHS WILL DROP BACK INTO THE UPPER 40S...LOWER 50S FOR SUNDAY. THE REST OF THE FORECAST REMAINS UNCHANGED. THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION IS AS FOLLOWS: MONDAY - TUESDAY... ON MONDAY ANOTHER QUICK-MOVING SYSTEM ARISES OUT OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS. THE DGEX AND GFS HAVE THIS SYSTEM FAR ENOUGH SOUTH TO PULL IN SOME GULF MOISTURE...BRINGING SHOWERS AND STORMS WITH IT. THE 00Z ECMWF IS A BIT SLOWER...CLOSING OFF AN UPPER LOW NEAR THE TX/OK AREA MONDAY. GIVEN TIMING DIFFERENCES...WILL JUST KEEP IN SLIGHT CHANCE POPS MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT AND KEEP TUESDAY DRY. && .AVIATION (18Z TAF ISSUANCE)... LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE FROM THE LOWER GREAT LAKES INTO WESTERN NEW ENGLAND BY THE END OF THE PERIOD...DRAGGING AN OCCLUDED FRONT THROUGH CENTRAL KENTUCKY THIS EVENING. SHOWERS PRECEDING THE FRONT WILL BE MAINLY CONFINED TO LEX AND SDF DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH HIGH IFR/LOW MVFR CIGS TO FOLLOW TONIGHT FOR ALL TAF LOCATIONS. SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH A DEEP UPPER LEVEL TROF WILL MOVE ACRS THE TAF SITES THU WITH MVFR CIGS CONTINUING AND NORTHWEST WINDS AROUND 10KTS. && .LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. IN...NONE. && UPDATE.........DK/11 SHORT TERM.....13 LONG TERM......AML AVIATION.......DK/11
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 1140 AM EST WED MAR 9 2011 INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067- 070>078-081-082-100845- 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- 1140 AM EST WED MAR 9 2011 /1040 AM CST WED MAR 9 2011/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. MINOR FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ON AREA RIVERS. REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR STAGE AND FORECAST INFORMATION. IN ADDITION...MINOR AREAL FLOODING WILL CONTINUE...BUT WITH IMPROVING CONDITIONS AS SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS RECEDE DURING THE AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. 11
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Rough River at Dundee crested at 26.4 feet around 1145 AM CST on March 10. Flood stage at Dundee is 25 feet. Minor flooding occurs at this level, with sections of Kentucky Highway 69 flooded.
The Ohio River above Louisville crested around 26.6 feet at 630 AM EST on March 12. Flood stage is 23 feet. Minor flooding occurs at this level with sections of River Road flooded.
The Green River at Woodbury crested at 34.2 feet around 5 AM CST on March 11. Flood stage at Woodbury is 33 feet. Minor flooding occurs at this level, with some lowlands around the town of Woodbury covered with water.
The Ohio River below Louisville crested around 57.8 feet at 1045 AM EST on March 12. Flood stage is 55 feet. Minor flooding occurs at this level, with parts of River Front Park flooded. Parks and riverfront areas in Clarksville and New Albany, IN are also flooded.
The Rolling Fork River at Boston crested around 36.2 feet at 345 AM EST on March 11. Flood stage at Boston is 35 feet. Minor flooding occurs at this level, with agricultural bottom land flooded.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, March 2011
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: 288120, 288130, 288121, 288132, 288118.