Flood of '97

Notes

  --------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
  24-Hour                                                      
  Precipitation                                                
  Amounts                                                      

  Site            Fri Feb 28     Sat March 1    Sun March 2    Mon March 3

  Louisville      1.11"          7.22"          0.19"          0.69"
  International                                                
  Airport                                                      

  Louisville NWS                 10.48"                        
  Office                                                       
  (official for                                                
  city)                                                        

  Lexington       0.35"          5.56"          1.44"          0.98"

  Bowling Green                                                
  --------------- -------------- -------------- -------------- --------------

Daily record precips:

Lexington 3/1 (5.56")

Lexington 3/2 (1.44")

Louisville NWS office 10.48" 3/1

Heaviest rain:

Lexington: 11pm 2/28 -- 5am 3/1 (2.51")

Louisville International Airport:

Fatalities:

A 16 month old boy drowned as the car he was in filled with water as it
stalled under a viaduct in Clark County Indiana.

A 66 year old man was found dead in his pickup truck by Hingston Creek
in Millersburg KY (Bourbon County).

A 16 year old boy was killed near Jeffersontown KY as his van was swept
off the road by swollen Chenoweth Creek.

A 13 year old boy was killed as he drowned trying to clean out his
culvert in Shelby County.

A 33 year old woman drowned as her minivan was swept into the Barren
River in Warren County.

A 50 year old man was killed around 9 am est March 2 as he attempted to
cross a flooded road. His car was swept into Elkhorn Creek, a tributary
of the Kentucky River, and he drowned as he attempted to swim for safety
(Franklin County).

A 39 year old man was found floating down the river near West Point
(Hardin County).

Severe Weather:

31 county Severe Thunderstorm Warnings. First one began at 10:58pm EST
February 28 for Barren County...last one ended at 1:30am EST March 2 for
Russell County (combo SVR/FFW).

5 county Tornado Warnings: Monroe (5:54am EST 3/1), Cumberland (6:06am
EST 3/1), Washington KY (12:56pm EST 3/1), Adair (12:05am EST 3/2), and
Casey (12:34am EST 3/2) counties.

[F0 tornado]{.underline} in Bowling Green at 5:26am EST 3/1 along
Garrett Hollow Road. Tree damage. One mile long, 50 yards wide.

Trees and power lines down in western Allen County at 5:30am EST 3/1.

[F2 tornado]{.underline} destroyed homes and barns from 5:36am EST to
5:45am EST from Bugtussle to Gamaliel in Monroe County. Four miles long,
500 yards wide.

Trees blown down across Edmonson County at 12:20pm EST.

[F0 tornado]{.underline} knocked down trees and blew a car off the road
northwest of Springfield in Washington County from 12:59pm to 1:09pm EST
3/1. 5 miles long, 50 yards wide.

[F1 tornado]{.underline} damaged a farm at Hardyville in Hart County at
11:00pm EST 3/1. 1 mile long, 50 yards wide.

Trees blown down at Russellville in Logan County at 11:10pm EST 3/1.

Power lines blown down across Allen County at 12:05am EST 3/2.

Numerous trees and power lines down left 75% of Glasgow without power in
Barren County at midnight 3/2.

Straight-line winds did extensive damage, including removing roofs, in
Boyle County, including Danville, at 12:05am 3/2.

Dime-sized hail at Pierce in Green County at 12:10am 3/2.

Several houses lost their roofs in straight-line winds in western Adair
County at 12:30am EST 3/2.

[F0 tornado]{.underline} at Center in Metcalfe County at 12:25am EST 3/2
downed trees and power lines. 50 yards wide, down-and-up.

Dime-sized hail at Edmonton (Metcalfe County) at 12:30am EST 3/2.

Numerous trees blown down and one roof removed in Casey County at
12:40am EST 3/2.

Trees blown down north of Russell Springs in Russell County at 12:55am
EST 3/2.

Flood Products:

235 county Flash Flood Warnings. First one began at 11:28pm EST February
28 (for Butler and Grayson counties)...warnings ended at 2:00am EST
March 2 (for Clark KY, Garrard, Madison, Casey, and Lincoln counties).

Record stages:

30.0 feet on Stoner Creek at Paris at 5am EST March 2 (flood stage 18
feet)

28.0 feet on Licking River at Cynthiana at 5:30pm EST March 2 (flood
stage is 20 feet).

47.6 feet on Licking River at Blue Licks Spring at 7pm EST March 2
(flood stage is 25 feet)

52.3 feet on Ohio River at Cannelton IN at 2am March 8 (flood stage is
42 feet).

Misc:

\$60,000,000 damage done along the Ohio River in Indiana.

50,000 homes affected in Louisville

\$65,000,000 damage in Louisville *away* from the Ohio River

Interstates 64 and 65 were closed in Louisville

The flooding was particularly bad along Elkhorn Creek in Franklin County
where many two-story houses had water up to the second floor and at
least 75 rescues were made.

Damage attributed to river flooding alone was at 115 million across
Jefferson County Kentucky bringing the total damage across the county to
200 million including the earlier flash flooding and flooding.

Barge traffic on the Ohio was halted.

Water reached rooftops in Boston.

Synoptics:

Warm front moved slowly north across the region

Soil moisture was near normal prior to the event.

Heavy run-off since vegetation was still dormant.

No snowpack.

With upper ridge east and upper trof west, broad southwest flow aloft
over the Ohio Valley.

Persistent low-level jet transported abundant moisture up from the Gulf.

PWAT 200% of normal and dew points in the middle 60s (on the 1^st^ of
March!)

Significant training of storms