Flood — Henderson, Kentucky

2011-05-01 to 2011-05-15 · near Baskett, Henderson, Kentucky

Event narrative

Flooding continued on the Ohio River from April. At the Evansville, Indiana river gage, the river crested at 46.78 feet on May 5. This was the 8th highest crest on record, and less than a foot below the 1997 flood. Due to Ohio River flooding, a horse-racing track was surrounded by floodwater. A preliminary estimate of the number of flooded homes ranges from 100 to 200. Near the confluence of the Green and Ohio Rivers, a number of homes were enveloped by water near Spottsville. At least 80 county roads and a much smaller number of state roads were closed by flooding. U.S. Highway 60 was closed from Spottsville to the Daviess County line. A Red Cross shelter was opened for a very small number of evacuees, mostly from the Reed and Beals communities. The National Guard was activated. There was considerable flooding of low-lying agricultural land, forcing farmers to delay planting.

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 → (37.9117, -87.4745)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 307430. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.