Dangerous, prolonged heat is expected across portions of the Central and Southeast U.S. through July. Scattered severe thunderstorms are expected over parts of the northern Plains into the upper Mississippi Valley Tuesday, with damaging winds and large hail as the primary threats. Heavy rainfall could lead to areas of flooding across the northern Plains, Upper Midwest, Southeast and Southwest. Read More >
Copious amounts of rain fell on central Kentucky and extreme southern Indiana as the calendar turned from February to March back in 1997. As thunderstorms and large areas of heavy rain repeatedly moved over the same areas, impressive amounts of rainfall were recorded. The deluge resulted in record flooding along smaller streams and some of the worst flooding along the Ohio River since at least 1964, and in some places since the Great Flood of 1937. A few smaller streams set their all-time records.
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Water reached the rooftops in Boston (Nelson County).
Barge traffic was halted on the Ohio River when the locks flooded.
In the Louisville metro area about $200,000,000 in damage was attributed to the flooding, with 50,000 dwellings affected. Interstates 64 and 65 were closed.
92 counties in Kentucky and 14 counties in southern Indiana were declared disaster areas. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from their homes, with total damage across the region around $400,000,000.
The Ohio River rose to the highest levels since March of 1964, with navigation on the river stopped completely due to the locks being flooded. Disaster declarations were made for 92 counties in Kentucky and 14 in southern Indiana due to flooding. 19 deaths occurred in Kentucky; 9 were people who attempted to cross flooded roadways.
Due to backwater from the Ohio River the flooding was very prolonged. In the Licking River basin, flooding continued until the 7th, Kentucky River basin the 8th, Salt River basin until the 11th, and the Green River basin until the 18th. The middle of the Ohio River stayed above flood stage until the 16th.
Site | Flood Stage (feet) | Above Flood Stage | Crest | |||
From | To | Stage (feet) | Date | Time (EST) | ||
Muscatatuck River at Deputy IN | 15 | March 1 | March 2 | 23.4 | March 2 | 8am |
Blue River at FredericksburgIN | 20 | March 2 | March 2 | 21.5 | March 2 | 1pm |
Stoner Creek at Paris KY | 18 | March 1 | March 3 | 30.0 | March 2 | 5am |
South Fork Licking River at Cynthiana KY | 20 | March 1 | March 4 | 28.0 | March 2 | 6pm |
Licking River at Blue Licks Spring KY | 25 | March 1 | March 7 | 47.6 | March 2 | 7pm |
Kentucky River at Ford KY | 26 | March 4 | March 6 | 27.1 | March 5 | 8pm |
Kentucky River at High Bridge KY | 30 | March 2 | March 7 | 37.4 | March 2 | 7pm |
Kentucky River at Frankfort KY | 31 | March 2 | March 8 | 45.2 | March 3 | 1pm |
Rolling Fork Salt River at Boston KY | 35 | March 1 | March 11 | 53.2 | March 3 | 1pm |
Salt River at Shepherdsville KY | 32 | March 2 | March 9 | 40.9 | March 3 | 1pm |
Russell Creek at Columbia KY | 16 | March 1 | March 2 | 18.8 | March 2 | Midnight |
Drakes Creek at Alvaton KY | 22 | March 2 | March 4 | 29.9 | March 2 | 6pm |
Barren River at Bowling Green KY | 28 | March 2 | March 4 | 34.9 | March 3 | 6am |
Rough River at Dundee | 25 | March 2 | March 6 | 30.2 | March 2 | 7pm |
Green River at Munfordville KY | 28 | March 2 | March 7 | 43.9 | March 3 | 10pm |
Green River at Brownsville KY | 18 | March 2 | March 8 | 33.8 | March 5 | 4pm |
Green River at Woodbury KY | 33 | March 1 | March 10 | 48.9 | March 5 | 11am |
Green River at Rochester KY | 17 | March 2 | March 18 | 30.7 | March 7 | 10am |
Ohio River at Clifty Creek IN | 451 | March 3 | March 11 | 460.9 | March 7 | 6am |
Ohio River at Upper McAlpine Lock KY | 23 | March 2 | March 13 | 38.8 | March 7 | 5am |
Ohio River at Lower McAlpine Lock KY | 55 | March 3 | March 13 | 70.6 | March 7 | 6pm |
Ohio River at Cannelton Lock IN | 42 | March 3 | March 15 | 52.3 | March 8 | 2am |
Ohio River at Tell City IN | 38 | March 2 | March 16 | 50.4 | March 8 | 5am |
In addition to the flooding, there was also severe weather for central Kentuckians to deal with...including tornadoes! No fewer than five tornadoes occurred in central Kentucky, with the strongest being an F2 twister in southern Monroe County. Straight-line winds blew trees and power lines down across southern Kentucky, and hail was reported in Green and Metcalfe counties.
The Louisville National Weather Service office issued 5 Tornado Warnings, 31 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, and 235 Flash Flood Warnings between 10:58pm EST February 28 and 2:00 am March 2.
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