An isolated instance of flash flooding occurred in Ottowa in Rockcastle county during the mid afternoon hours of September 25, 2013.
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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 JKL wrote it up.
An isolated instance of flash flooding occurred in Ottowa in Rockcastle county during the mid afternoon hours of September 25, 2013.
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 Jackson, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 25, 1:36 PM EST, 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 236 PM EDT WED SEP 25 2013 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 116 PM EDT WED SEP 25 2013 UPDATED FOR OBSERVED CONDITIONS TO BLEND INTO THE LATE AFTERNOON FORECAST. THERE WAS LITTLE CHANGE TO THE OVERALL FORECAST. UPDATE ISSUED AT 1052 AM EDT WED SEP 25 2013 SHOWERS WHICH AFFECTED MOST PLACES FROM KJKL SOUTH WERE LARGELY ON THE WAY OUT LATE THIS MORNING. 12Z NAM AND LATEST HRRR STILL GENERATE MORE CONVECTION DURING THE AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE AREA. HAVE UPDATED POPS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY...WITH THE MAIN CHANGE BEING A DROP BACK TO NOTHING MORE THAN LIKELY POPS FOR MOST PLACES IN THE SOUTH. HAVE LEFT A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDER IN FOR THE SOUTH...BUT EXPECTED INSTABILITY REALLY LOOKS MEAGER. UPDATE ISSUED AT 755 AM EDT WED SEP 25 2013 DID A QUICK GRID UPDATE TO FINE TUNE POPS THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS BASED ON THE LATEST RADAR TRENDS AND HRRR/RAP13. ALSO TWEAKED T/TD GRIDS PER THE LATEST OBS AND TRENDS. THESE HAVE BEEN SENT TO THE NDFD AND WEB SERVERS. && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY) ISSUED AT 400 AM EDT WED SEP 25 2013 07Z SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS A BROAD AREA OF WEAK LOW PRESSURE MOVING THROUGH THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AND PUSHING INTO SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY. THIS IS BRINGING A BATCH OF NUMEROUS TO SCATTERED SHOWERS TO THE CUMBERLAND VALLEY EARLY THIS MORNING. A FEW LIGHTNING STRIKES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS AREA EARLIER IN THE NIGHT HAVE ENDED FOR NOW. LOW AND MID LEVEL CLOUDS CURRENTLY COVER EAST KENTUCKY AND THESE ARE HELPING TO KEEP ANY FOG AT BAY. THESE CLOUDS ARE ALSO SUPPORTING MILDER TEMPS OVERNIGHT WITH READINGS VARYING FROM THE UPPER 50S IN THE NORTHEAST TO MID AND UPPER 60S IN THE SOUTHWEST. MEANWHILE... WINDS ARE LIGHT THROUGH THE CWA AND DEW POINTS VARY FROM THE UPPER 50S IN THE NORTH TO THE MID 6OS IN THE SOUTH. THE MODELS HAVE SETTLED ON A SOLUTION ALOFT FOR THE SHORT TERM THAT CONSISTS OF A BROAD TROUGH CROSSING INTO THE OHIO VALLEY EARLY THIS MORNING AND ROLLING EAST ACROSS THE SPINE OF THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS BY THURSDAY MORNING. RIDGING EVENTUALLY FOLLOWS THIS FOR THURSDAY EVENING...BUT NOT BEFORE CYCLONIC MID LEVEL FLOW DEPARTS LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON. WHILE THE MODELS ARE IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THIS EVOLUTION...THERE REMAINS SOME SUBSTANTIAL QPF DIFFERENCES THROUGH THE CWA TODAY AND CONSISTENCY WITH THIS AND OTHER SENSIBLE PARAMETERS HAVE BEEN BELOW AVERAGE WITH THIS SYSTEM. ACCORDINGLY... HAVE FOLLOWED THE LATEST HRRR...NAM12...AND ECMWF MOST CLOSELY FOR WX SPECIFICS THROUGH THE SHORT TERM. SENSIBLE WEATHER WILL FEATURE SHOWERS AND EVENTUALLY EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO EAST KENTUCKY FROM WEST TO EAST...MAINLY TARGETING THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE CWA. THAT SAID...THE LATEST HRRR AND RAP13 DEPICT THE HIGHER POPS AND BETTER QPF A BIT FARTHER NORTH TODAY THAN THE NAM12 AND ECMWF SUGGEST. FOR THAT REASON HAVE LIFTED THE HIGHER POPS AND SOME QPF A BIT NORTH OF MODEL CONSENSUS. POCKETS OF HEAVIER RAIN FROM LONGER DURATION SHOWERS...AND A POTENTIAL FOR TRAINING...WILL LIKELY LEAVE BEHIND UP TO AN INCH OF RAIN IN SOME PLACES THROUGHOUT THE CUMBERLAND VALLEY. WILL ADD THIS MENTION TO THE HWO. THE SYSTEM PULLS AWAY TONIGHT AND ENDS ALL BUT AN ISOLATED SHOWER PCPN THREAT FOR THE AREA DURING THE EVENING. LOW CLOUDS WILL BREAK UP DURING THE MORNING ON THURSDAY WITH GOOD AMOUNTS OF SUNSHINE RETURNING BY AFTERNOON. IN THE FAR EAST...CLOUDS WILL LINGER LONGER ALONG WITH A SMALL THREAT FOR A SHOWER IN THE MORNING. USED THE CONSSHORT AND ITS BC VERSION TO INITIATE THE TD AND WIND GRIDS THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY...THEN THE BC/CONSALL THEREAFTER. FOR TEMPERATURES...USED THE CONSSHORT THROUGH MID MORNING BLENDED WITH A DIURNAL CURVE BASED ON THE NAM12 AFTER SLIGHTLY MODIFYING THE CONSALL MAX AND MIN TEMPS. AS FOR POPS...ENDED UP A TAD CLOSER TO THE HIGHER MET NUMBERS THROUGH TONIGHT AND THEN WENT MAINLY DRY ON THURSDAY. .LONG TERM...(THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY) ISSUED AT 234 AM EDT WED SEP 25 2013 AS A WEAK AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CROSS SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY...SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE TO OVERSPREAD THE CUMBERLAND VALLEY THIS MORNING WITH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE. THIS SYSTEM WILL DRAG THROUGH THE LOWER HALF OF EAST KENTUCKY TODAY AND BRING A BETTER CHANCE OF THUNDER TO THE TAF SITES FROM LATE MORNING INTO THE AFTERNOON. THE HEAVIER SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PASSAGE SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO LOWER CIGS AND VIS DOWN TO MVFR...AND PROBABLY BRIEFLY IFR...THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE SHOWERS WILL LIKELY END FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST LATER THIS EVENING AS VFR CIGS AND VIS RETURN. WINDS WILL REMAIN LIGHT AND VARIABLE THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD...EXCEPT IN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF ANY STRAY STORM.A STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE AREA FROM THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY PROVIDING A DRY AND PLEASANT STRETCH OF WEATHER. THE NEXT CHANCE OF RAIN WILL HOLD OFF UNTIL LATE SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT AS A FAST MOVING SHORTWAVE PUSHES A COLD FRONT ACROSS KENTUCKY. MODELS STILL DIFFER ON TIMING AND STRENGTH OF THIS SYSTEM...BUT OVERALL...THIS FEATURE HAS LOOKED WEAKER AND WEAKER OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS WITH THE FORCING ALMOST NON-EXISTENT. THUS...ONLY GOING TO CARRY SLIGHT CHANCE POPS WITH THIS BOUNDARY AS IT PUSHES ACROSS THE AREA LATE IN THE WEEKEND. THE ECMWF HOLDS THE FRONT UP NEAR THE AREA ON MONDAY...PERHAPS ALLOWING FOR A FEW SHOWERS INTO MONDAY AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...THE TENDENCY IS TO DRY THINGS OUT FROM MONDAY NIGHT INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. A GOOD CHANCE MOST OF THE EXTENDED WILL REMAIN DRY FOR MOST OF THE AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL TREND SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE END OF THE WEEK INTO SATURDAY...BEFORE A SLIGHT DIP FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 236 PM EDT WED SEP 25 2013 CONDITIONS WERE MAINLY VFR AT THE START OF THE PERIOD...WITH ISOLATED IFR. THERE WERE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND VERY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER ALL BUT THE FAR NORTHERN PART OF THE AREA. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL PEAK IN COVERAGE LATE THIS AFTERNOON...AND THEN BE ON THE DECLINE WITH MOST OF THEM DYING OUT BY 02Z. CLOUDS WILL THIN OUT THIS EVENING...WHICH WILL ALLOW FOG TO DEVELOP. MOST PLACES SHOULD DROP TO IFR BETWEEN 04Z AND 10Z...WITH GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT TO VFR BEGINNING AFTER SUNRISE. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && UPDATE...HAL SHORT TERM...GREIF LONG TERM...KAS AVIATION...HAL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 410 AM EDT WED SEP 25 2013 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-261115- FLEMING-MONTGOMERY-BATH-ROWAN-ESTILL-POWELL-MENIFEE-ROCKCASTLE- JACKSON-PULASKI-LAUREL-WAYNE-MCCREARY-WHITLEY-KNOX-BELL-HARLAN- ELLIOTT-MORGAN-JOHNSON-WOLFE-MAGOFFIN-FLOYD-LEE-BREATHITT-KNOTT- OWSLEY-PERRY-CLAY-LESLIE-LETCHER-MARTIN-PIKE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FLEMINGSBURG...MOUNT STERLING... OWINGSVILLE...MOREHEAD...IRVINE...STANTON...FRENCHBURG... MOUNT VERNON...MCKEE...SOMERSET...LONDON...MONTICELLO... WHITLEY CITY...CORBIN...WILLIAMSBURG...BARBOURVILLE...MIDDLESBORO... PINEVILLE...HARLAN...SANDY HOOK...WEST LIBERTY...PAINTSVILLE... CAMPTON...SALYERSVILLE...PRESTONSBURG...BEATTYVILLE...JACKSON... HINDMAN...BOONEVILLE...HAZARD...MANCHESTER...HYDEN...WHITESBURG... INEZ...PIKEVILLE 410 AM EDT WED SEP 25 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND INTO THE EVENING ACROSS EAST KENTUCKY. LOCATIONS GENERALLY SOUTH OF THE HAL ROGERS PARKWAY MAY SEE BRIEF PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN FROM LATE THIS MORNING THROUGH 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. GREIF
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:58 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Highway 1650 was covered by up to 3 feet of flowing water near the Ottowa Baptist Church. The road was covered for approximately 30 minutes. Several driveways were also washed out in the area.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, September 2013
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: 472784.