Flash Flood — Pike, Kentucky

2010-07-17 to 2010-07-18 · near Raccoon, Pike, Kentucky

Event narrative

A man leaned over the railing of a highway bridge and fell over 240 feet to his death on the hillside below. The man was watching the flood waters of Racoon Creek from the bridge.

Wider weather episode

An isolated severe thunderstorm blew down trees in Montgomery county during the predawn hours of July 17th. The more significant event, however, occurred during the later afternoon and evening hours in Pike county. Slow moving, training thunderstorms dumped between 3 and 7 inches of rain on portions of eastern Pike County in a very short period of time. The sudden inundation of the higher terrain around the Raccoon and Harless Creek drainage basins created a wall of water that swept away nearly everything in its path. The town of Raccoon was the hardest hit of the areas that received flooding. One woman was swept away and drowned by the flood waters. A man also fell to his death after leaning over the railing of a highway bridge and falling 240 feet into the raging creek below.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.5063, -82.4579)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 242729. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.