Flash Flood in Boyd County, Kentucky

Serious urban flooding occurred in and around the city of Ashland. Water was up to the windshields on several stalled vehicles. Lexington Ave and Route 60 were a few of the flooded streets. Basement flooding was common. One house had its foundation weakened. Some roads along rural streams were flooded, but damage was worst in the urban areas.

Repetitive showers and thunderstorms, moved southeast through southeast Ohio and into portions of northeast Kentucky between 1500E and 1830E on Tuesday, the 10th. In northeast Kentucky, the heaviest rains fell in eastern Greenup County and Boyd County. Later that night some minor water problems reached south, into Lawrence County.

This convection was just northeast of a warm front. A sharp dew point gradient existed across the front. Surface dew points were around 70 degrees just southwest of the boundary. Luckily, later that same night, repetitive convection occurred in the Scioto River Valley of southern Ohio, missing this area just to the northwest.

Initially, the main impact was large hail. As back building caused repetitive showers and thunderstorms, flooding became the primary issue. Maximum rain amounts of 3 to 4 inches were observed. The urban areas around Ashland likely had the heaviest rain. The highest total was 4 inches, measured at the Ashland cooperative observer site.