Severe Flooding In Northeastern Kentucky & Southern Ohio

News Headlines

July 20-21, 2010
Severe Flooding In Northeastern Kentucky and Southern Ohio

A frontal boundary stalled just south of the Ohio River on Tuesday, allowing for several waves of showers and thunderstorms across southern Ohio and northern Kentucky. Very high moisture was in place, which made these storms efficient heavy rain producers. These storms tracked repeatedly over the same locations, with some areas receiving heavy rain for almost 4 consecutive hours Tuesday night. This led to very high rainfall amounts. The highest amounts were across Mason and Lewis counties where rainfall amounts of 7 to 9 inches fell in just a few hours.

This extreme amount of rainfall led to very serious flooding across Mason, Lewis and Scioto counties. Countless water rescues occurred due to people trapped on the roofs of their homes and cars due to very rapidly rising water. Dozens of buildings in Lewis and Scioto counties sustained heavy damage. Several structures in Lewis County were swept completely off their foundations, including a grocery store in the central part of the county. One fatality occurred near Franklin Furnace in Scioto County, when a woman was swept away by rushing flood waters.