Flood — Carter, Kentucky

2025-02-16 to 2025-02-17 · near Leon, Carter, Kentucky

Event narrative

The Little Sandy River at Grayson exceeded its flood stage of 21 feet early on the 16th of February, then continued to rise to a crest around 24.4 feet during the afternoon. The river slowly receded back below flood stage the morning of the 17th. This resulted in flooding of low spots along Route 773 and Jackson Road, buildings next to the gage, and farmland and outbuildings along the river.

Wider weather episode

Light showers started to arrive into northeast Kentucky on the evening of February 14th, with more substantial rain spreading across the area overnight into the 15th as a warm front approached from the south. While precipitation coverage eroded from southeast Ohio and northwest West Virginia during the afternoon, moderate to heavy rain continued to trail across northeast Kentucky. This precipitation band lifted north with a front during the night, then a passing low pushed additional showers through with a cold front on the 16th. Rain turned to snow as cold air moved in behind the front, then light snow showers lingered into the 17th. Two to three inches of rain led to widespread flooding and many road closures across northeast Kentucky.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.2951, -82.9808)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1234598. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.