The Ohio River rose back above flood stage after a series of heavy rainfall events in late March and early April. Showers and thunderstorms were frequent during the first few days of the month ahead of a surface cold front.
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 PAH wrote it up.
The Ohio River rose back above flood stage after a series of heavy rainfall events in late March and early April. Showers and thunderstorms were frequent during the first few days of the month ahead of a surface cold front. A warm front brought more rain on the 7th. Rainfall totals averaged one to three inches during the first few days of the month, and another inch or so fell with the warm front.
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 Apr 15, 1:15 PM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 215 PM CDT WED APR 15 2015 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 215 PM CDT WED APR 15 2015 AS A WEAK MID LEVEL WAVE LIFTS ACROSS THE MS VALLEY THIS EVENING...AMPLE MOISTURE UPSTREAM WILL MAKE ITS WAY NORTHWARD AS WELL...SPELLING A CHANCE OF SHOWERS/ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS FOR US. THIS WILL CONTINUE OVERNIGHT WITH THE INSTABILITY/MOISTURE AXIS SHIFTING EASTWARD A LITTLE...MAINLY ACROSS THE PENNYRILE OF WKY EXTENDING NORTHWARD ACROSS SWIN. IN THE WAKE OF THIS WAVE DEPARTING TMRW MORNING...A TELECONNECTED RIDGE FORMS/MOVES IN AND GIVES A DRY START TO THURSDAY. IT'S IN RESPONSE TO THE DIGGING TROF OF LOW PRESSURE CROSS THE ROCKIES AND HEADING INTO THE PLAINS STATES. THE BACKED/BUCKLED UPPER FLOW BECOMES SWLY AND AS SUCH...GETS A WET TONGUE INTERACTION WITH THE SRN STREAM...WHICH WILL ADVECT OUR NEXT CHANCE OF RAIN IN AS WE HEAD INTO LATE THURSDAY NIGHT-FRIDAY. THE MOISTURE WILL RIDE INTO/OVERTOP THE UPPER RIDGE...AND RESULT IN SMALLISH POPS UNTIL THE MAIN LOW CAN EJECT. SO...WHILE THE END OF THE WEEK LOOKS TO HAVE A CHANCE OF PCPN...IT DOES NOT YET COME TOGETHER TO SPELL A SIGNIFICANTLY CONTINUOUS WET WEATHER FORECAST UNTIL INTO THE WEEKEND. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY) ISSUED AT 215 PM CDT WED APR 15 2015 AT THE BEGINNING OF THE LONG TERM PERIOD SOUTHERLY FLOW IN THE LOWER TROPOSPHERE IS FORECAST TO ADVECT DEEPER MOISTURE INTO THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY AS A RESULT OF A CLOSED H5 LOW LIFTING NORTHEAST OUT OF THE FOUR CORNERS AREA. PRECIPITATION CHANCES ARE EXPECTED THROUGH MONDAY WITH THIS FEATURE. THE BEST CHANCES IN THIS PERIOD SHOULD BE SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT AS A LOBE OF ENERGY ROTATING AROUND THE SOUTH END OF THE LOW INDUCES A SURFACE LOW THAT TRACKS NORTHEAST ACROSS OUR CWA. THE COMBINATION OF UPPER LEVEL ENERGY...DEEP MOISTURE...AND THE SURFACE LOW SHOULD GENERATE WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION ACROSS OUR CWA BOTH PERIODS. PRECIPITATION CHANCES SUNDAY...SUNDAY NIGHT...AND MONDAY WILL SLOWLY DIMINISH FROM THE WEST AS THE UPPER ENERGY...MOISTURE...ETC MOVE EAST OF THE AREA. PRECIPITATION CHANCES ON MONDAY ARE UP IN THE AIR AT THIS TIME DUE TO MODEL DISPARITY. BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF HAVE PRECIPITATION OUT OF ALL BUT THE FAR EASTERN SECTIONS OF OUR CWA ON MONDAY BUT THE CANADIAN HOLDS IF BACK FARTHER WEST SO KINDA WENT WITH A COMPROMISE. HIGH PRESSURE AND ZONAL FLOW ALOFT SHOULD KEEP THE REGION DRY FROM MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. TUESDAY NIGHT THE GFS BRINGS A FRONT ACROSS THE AREA WITH LIMITED MOISTURE AND A SMATTERING OF QPF (<=.01) WHILE THE ECMWF HOLDS THE AFOREMENTIONED HIGH PRESURE OVER THE REGION A BIT LONGER...SO DECIDED TO KEEP DRY FOR THE MOMENT. IT LOOKS LIKE SMALL PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL CREEP BACK INTO THE NORTHWESTERN SECTIONS OF OUR CWA ON WEDNESDAY WITH WARM FRONTOGENESIS WORKING EASTWARD INTO OUR AREA ALONG WITH A POCKET OF MOISTURE. TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE AT OR ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .AVIATION... ISSUED AT 215 PM CDT WED APR 15 2015 MVFR CIGS THIS PM MAY OCCASIONALLY SCATTERED TO VFR...BUT WILL RIDE THE MVFR AVERAGE FOR THE RULE. IFR CIGS LOCATED IN DEPPER MOISTURE OVER AR/WRN MO MAY ADVECT NORTHWARD INTO OUR AREA LATER TONIGHT...AS RAIN CHANCES APPEAR. MVFR VSBYS RESTRICTIONS IN LIGHT SHOWERS WILL ACCOMPANY THIS...LASTING THRU THE NIGHT AND INTO THE PLANNING PERIOD. IT SHOULD NOT BE CONTINUOUS PER SE...SO WE'LL ALTERNATE BETWEEN CONDTIONAL AND VICINITY WORDING. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...NONE. MO...NONE. IN...NONE. KY...NONE. && SHORT TERM/AVIATION...DH LONG TERM/FIRE WX...JP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 329 AM CDT WED APR 15 2015 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-161000- 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- 329 AM CDT WED APR 15 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A SMALL CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER WEST KENTUCKY LATE THIS AFTERNOON WILL SPREAD NORTHWEST TO COVER THE ENTIRE REGION TONIGHT. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL BE THE PRIMARY CONCERNS. SEVERAL POINTS ALONG THE OHIO AND WABASH RIVERS...AS WELL AS SOME OF THEIR TRIBUTARIES...WILL REMAIN IN FLOOD. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST RIVER FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST FOR PORTIONS OF THE REGION OFF AN ON FROM THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL BE THE PRIMARY CONCERNS. SEVERAL POINTS ALONG THE OHIO AND WABASH RIVERS...AS WELL AS SOME OF THEIR TRIBUTARIES...WILL REMAIN IN FLOOD. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST RIVER FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. SMITH/DRS
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River. Some low-lying bottomlands were inundated.
Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River. Low-lying woods and fields near the river were inundated. Portions of a riverside park in downtown Paducah were flooded.
Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River. Low-lying woods and bottomland fields were inundated. A private campground at Birdsville was flooded.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, April 2015
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: 566059, 566062, 566060.