Flash Flood — Hickman, Kentucky

2025-02-15 to 2025-02-16 · near Watts, Hickman, Kentucky

Event narrative

Flash flooding closed Highway 58 near the Graves County line.

Wider weather episode

Significant flash flooding occurred over west Kentucky, as anomalously high amounts of low-level moisture streamed northward over a warm front that became stationary along the Tennessee border. Steady rains began just after 0000CST on the 15th and continued until around 0100CST on the 16th. The rain came in waves with the first one targeting Fulton, Murray, Fort Campbell, and Guthrie with 1-2' in the pre-dawn hours. The first flash flooding report came from Guthrie where flood waters had closed several roads and surrounded a few homes by 0430CST. By 1200CST the continuous rains had created a swath of 2-5' of rainfall over the southern half of the Purchase Area and along and south of the Interstate 69 corridor. The heavy rain (1-2) resulted in a rock slide that closed the right lane of eastbound Interstate 69 about 3 miles west of Dawson Springs in Caldwell County in the late morning. Numerous roads were impassable due to flash flooding of creeks and rivers. The South Fork of the Little River swelled to its major flood level resulting in widespread road closures in Hopkinsville. Its crest of 20.16 at the Bypass site was the third highest crest every recorded at that location. After a brief lull in the mid to late afternoon, a line of thunderstorms pushed eastward across the hardest hit areas near the Tennessee border in the evening. Small hail, up to 0.7' in diameter, was reported in Hazel, Murray, Newstead, Pembroke, and Trenton. Gusty winds up to 50 mph were reported from Earlington and Nortonville to Central City. As the heavy rain diminished in the late evening, major flooding developed along the Clarks River, flooding a firehouse and a pair of homes in Almo. The worst flooding occurred downstream in Benton, where several feet of water inundated businesses and closed numerous roads on the east and north sides of town. Two people lost their lives after their vehicles were swept away by flood waters, one in Caldwell County and the other in Graves County. There were numerous successful water rescues performed after vehicles stalled out in flood waters or were swept away. Final rainfall totals ranged from around 3' near the Ohio River to nearly 7' over much of the Jackson Purchase, including Fulton, Mayfield, Murray, and Benton, and northeast through Princeton and Central City. Daily rainfall records for the 15th were set at Paducah (4.54), Poplar Bluff (3.23), and Evansville (3.07).

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.6576, -88.8220)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1236546. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.