Showers and thunderstorms developed in a warm and humid airmass ahead of a cold front. Some storms produced heavy rainfall, leading to flooding.
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 ILN wrote it up.
Showers and thunderstorms developed in a warm and humid airmass ahead of a cold front. Some storms produced heavy rainfall, leading to flooding.
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 Wilmington, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 22, 6:05 PM EST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Wilmington OH
705 PM EDT Fri May 22 2026
.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
Flood Watch expanded into parts of southeast Indiana and southwest
Ohio
Lowered daytime temps/raised overnight lows a bit the next couple
days.
&&
.KEY MESSAGES...
1) Widespread showers and scattered thunderstorms will continue into
Saturday, with the potential for locally heavy rain.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
KEY MESSAGE 1)
Initial short wave lifting north across our area early this
afternoon with widespread showers and a few embedded thunderstorms
ongoing. This activity will continue through this evening before
beginning to decrease in coverage from the south after midnight and
through the early morning hours on Saturday. There is some
uncertainty with how widespread some lingering showers and
thunderstorms will be along the trailing trough axis behind the
surface low lifting north across eastern Indiana as a secondary mid
level short wave lifts up through the mid Ohio Valley. With some of
the hi-res models suggesting some locally heavy rain with this
feature, have opted to expand the Flood Watch farther north to
include portions of southeast Indiana and southwest Ohio. Confidence
is not super high with this but would rather err on the side of
caution given the already moist antecedent conditions.
The severe threat looks pretty limited this afternoon/early evening
due to the widespread rainfall. Suppose some very weak surface
instabilities could sneak into our far south late this afternoon and
if this were to happen, it would tough to rule out a few rotating
storms across our southern tier of counties given the good low level
shear.
The surface low will shift slowly northeast across northwest Ohio
during the day on Saturday as it slowly weakens. Models continue to
suggest some instability may develop through the afternoon across
our east/southeast. Think this may be overdone a bit though as we may
still have a fair amount of lingering cloud cover. Between this and
the lack of deeper shear, the overall severe threat looks limited at
best, but it will be tough to rule out some continued locally heavy
rain with any stronger storms that develop. The best chance for this
looks to be across our far eastern areas during the afternoon.
&&
.AVIATION /00Z SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...
Widespread IFR ceilings persist through 0600z as a low pressure
system lifts through the area. Persistent rain accompanies the
lowered ceilings along with MVFR visibilities with brief IFR
dropouts in the strongest showers. Isolated thunder may occur
through the first six hours of the TAF period.
After 0600z, rain becomes a bit more scattered south of the warm
that lifts north of the area. Ceilings are likely be slow to improve
overnight remaining in the IFR category through much of the morning.
MVFR ceilings are possible by Saturday afternoon when ceilings lift
and scatter.
Easterly winds veer to the south through the overnight. LLWS may
occur overnight as a low level jet moves through the area. Winds
continue to veer to the southwest on Saturday.
OUTLOOK...MVFR ceilings may linger into Sunday morning.
&&
.ILN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OH...Flood Watch until 5 AM EDT Saturday for OHZ055-056-063>065-070>074-
077>082-088.
KY...Flood Watch until 5 AM EDT Saturday for KYZ089>100.
IN...Flood Watch until 5 AM EDT Saturday for INZ066-073>075-080.
&&
DISCUSSION...JGL
AVIATION...CampbellHazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Wilmington OH 142 PM EDT Fri May 22 2026 INZ050-058-059-OHZ026-034-035-042>046-051>054-060>062-231000- Wayne-Fayette-Union-Hardin-Mercer-Auglaize-Darke-Shelby-Logan- Delaware-Miami-Champaign-Clark-Madison-Preble-Montgomery-Greene- 142 PM EDT Fri May 22 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for east central Indiana, central Ohio and west central Ohio. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Showers and embedded thunderstorms could produce locally heavy rain this afternoon into tonight that may result in spotty minor flooding. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. There is a low probability for widespread hazardous weather. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. INZ066-073>075-080-KYZ089>093-OHZ055-063-070>072-077>081-231000- Franklin-Ripley-Dearborn-Ohio-Switzerland-Carroll-Gallatin-Boone- Kenton-Campbell-Fayette-Butler-Warren-Clinton-Hamilton-Clermont- Brown-Highland-Adams- 142 PM EDT Fri May 22 2026 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southeast Indiana, northern Kentucky, central Ohio, south central Ohio and southwest Ohio. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Flood Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. There is a low probability for widespread hazardous weather. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. KYZ094>100-231000- Owen-Grant-Pendleton-Bracken-Robertson-Mason-Lewis- 142 PM EDT Fri May 22 2026 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northeast Kentucky and northern Kentucky. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Flood Watch. In addition, an isolated storm could become strong to severe with damaging wind or even a tornado late this afternoon into this evening. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. There is a low probability for widespread hazardous weather. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. OHZ056-064-065-073-074-082-088-231000- Licking-Pickaway-Fairfield-Ross-Hocking-Pike-Scioto- 142 PM EDT Fri May 22 2026 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Ohio and south central Ohio. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Flood Watch. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. Scattered thunderstorms will be possible Saturday. An isolated storm could become strong to severe with damaging wind or even a tornado during the afternoon. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:29 UTC.
2 flood, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Water was reported over the intersection of Timber Lane and Bristow Road.
Rushing water was reported over Hogback Ridge Road and Kentucky Route 177.
Several inches of water inundated portions of Old Sparta Road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, May 2026
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: 1329201, 1329225, 1329226.