Flash Flood — Henderson, Kentucky

2025-07-17 · near Henderson, Henderson, Kentucky

Event narrative

Flash flooding was observed on US-60 at 4th St and 12th St with traffic rerouted. Rainfall rates in the area were estimated by radar at around an inch over 45 minutes.

Wider weather episode

A surface cold front stalled out as it moved towards the northern edge of the Quad State on the 17th. Showers and thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours, tracking eastward, including a broken line of storms moving through the Evansville Tri-State area mid-afternoon. An outflow boundary from a decayed MCS to the north helped initiate some of the storm development. MLCAPE was a very strong 4000J/kg but bulk shear was limited. Precipitable water values were a very high 2.1 inches. Despite an active weather day, the lack of shear kept severe weather potential limited, and the lack of training with the heavy rain kept flooding from becoming widespread. Henderson had the strongest storm of the day for the Quad State region, with flash flooding and a downed power line.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.8413, -87.5863)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1294806. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.