The river flood season got off to an early start as the year 2020 opened. Rather mild and wet conditions continued into the new year.
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 river flood season got off to an early start as the year 2020 opened. Rather mild and wet conditions continued into the new year. Rainfall totals across the region were 1 to over 3 inches above normal for January. At Cape Girardeau, Missouri, it was the 4th wettest January on record with a total of 6.52 inches. The subtropical jetstream was very active, drawing in moisture from the eastern Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico. This provided very heavy rainfall, especially during the first half of the month. Heavy rainfall on the 11th caused many of the region's rivers to rise rapidly. The mainstem Ohio River was already high and just began rising again.
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 Jan 12, 6:14 PM CST, 5 hours 16 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Paducah KY 614 PM CST Sun Jan 12 2020 .UPDATE... Issued at 607 PM CST Sun Jan 12 2020 For aviation section only. && .SHORT TERM...(Tonight through Monday) Issued at 115 PM CST Sun Jan 12 2020 High pressure will keep conditions dry through Monday. Key to the forecast will be low clouds. Drier air/clearing was making northward progress across TN into east KY. The GFS and EC are more optimistic in this scenario playing out into our FA. However other guidance keeps considerable moisture trapped below the inversion. For now given low confidence, will compromise and gradually decrease clouds some into tomorrow. Highs tomorrow will largely be tied to the amount of clouds. Hi Res short term guidance shows mid 40s to near 50 is it, while NBM and other data suggests well into the 50s, maybe near 60 KY/TN border. Again, will go between the two, close to the 50th percentile of available guidance given low confidence (minimize bust potential). .LONG TERM...(Monday night through Sunday) Issued at 115 PM CST Sun Jan 12 2020 An unsettled period of weather is anticipated. Should be dry Monday night. Moisture will work into the SE 1/2 of the area Tuesday resulting in a chance of rain, though some guidance doesn't show much of a rain chance at all. A front will pass through, then stall just south of the area by Wednesday morning. Low pressure will track toward the Ohio Valley Wednesday, bringing the front back across the area. Will carry a chance of showers Wednesday, maybe a little thunder, then taper off PoPs into Thursday as high pressure builds in behind the front. Think our PoPs are too high Thursday night. Things should evolve a tad more slowly with rain chances increasing Friday, peaking Friday night with yet another frontal passage, driven by a H5 trof moving across the middle of the nation. Rain chances end by Saturday, with dry weather to finish off the weekend. We will see above normal temps through the period (50s/60s for highs). A little cooler Thursday post front. Should return to normal temperatures by Sunday. && .AVIATION... Issued at 607 PM CST Sun Jan 12 2020 Expect MVFR cigs through the period, with light winds despite models wanting to clear too early. That is normal with wrap around stratus assoc with potent cool season storms. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...None. MO...None. IN...None. KY...None. && UPDATE...GM SHORT TERM...08 LONG TERM...08 AVIATION...08
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Paducah KY 118 PM CST Sun Jan 12 2020 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-131100- Jefferson-Wayne IL-Edwards-Wabash-Perry IL-Franklin-Hamilton- White-Jackson-Williamson-Saline-Gallatin-Union-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- 118 PM CST Sun Jan 12 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky, and southeast Missouri. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight River flooding continues. Refer to the river flood warnings and statements for the details. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday There is a slight chance of thunderstorms Wednesday, primarily across southeast Missouri into west Kentucky. Widespread minor to moderate river flooding that is occurring or is forecast will continue. Refer to the river flood warnings and statements for the details. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River. Agricultural fields in the flood plain were inundated, along with small portions of the city's riverfront park.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, January 2020
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: 869142.