Flood — Mccracken, Kentucky

2011-05-01 to 2011-05-21 · near Paducah, Mccracken, Kentucky

Event narrative

Major flooding continued on the Ohio River from April. At the Paducah river gage, the flood crest of 55.03 feet around noon on May 5 was over three feet higher than the 1997 flood. This was still several feet lower than the record crest set in 1937. The activation of the New Madrid Floodway by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spared McCracken County from an even higher crest that would have inundated even larger areas of the county. With the detonation of the Mississippi River levee at Birds Point, Missouri, the Ohio River stopped rising or rose much more slowly at the Paducah gage. The flood gates were installed in the floodwall protecting the city of Paducah. Low-lying areas outside of the levee and floodwall protection system were flooded, displacing hundreds of residents. Preliminary estimates were that between 200 and 500 homes were flooded, some beyond repair. Many of the homes were located in the Clarks River floodplain, where water was nearly up to the second floor of one home. Ohio River backwater worsened flooding along the Clarks River, which empties into the Ohio between Reidland and Paducah. A mobile home was nearly completely submerged. Over a dozen water rescues were conducted. Water marks along tree lines were at least ten feet high in many locations near the Clarks River. Besides flooding numerous homes, the river submerged a small airport and a car-racing track. Many state roads were closed, making travel around the county difficult. The bridge carrying U.S. Route 45 over the Ohio River was closed due to water over the approaches. At the peak of the flooding, at least 60 roads were closed in McCracken County. Floodwaters crept toward U.S. Highway 60 in the city of Paducah outside the levee, but very few structures were affected on Route 60. The main exception was a major grocery store next to the levee, which was forced to close. A convention center located on the river side of the floodwall was saved by the construction of a makeshift levee.

Wider weather episode

Heavy rainfall in March set the stage for major flooding when record-setting rains fell in April and May. At Paducah, 15.91 inches of rain fell in April, which was 10.96 inches above normal. It was not only the wettest April on record, but the wettest month ever recorded at Paducah. In May, 8.74 inches of rain fell. This was 3.99 inches above normal for the month. Paducah had the wettest meteorological spring (March through May) period on record with 31.21 inches. This was 63 percent of the normal for an entire year. At Evansville, April was the second wettest April on record with 11.77 inches. For the season, Evansville had the second wettest meteorological spring with 25.01 inches. The result of all this rain was rapid and dramatic rises on rivers. Record flood crests occurred on some rivers, inundating numerous homes and businesses. There were major impacts to transportation both on land and water. There were numerous closed roads across the region, leading to often lengthy detours. Because of the high water, there were numerous day and nighttime restrictions to barge traffic. Hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland were flooded. Crops were late getting planted.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.0800, -88.6300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 307419. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.