Flood — Greenup, Kentucky

2019-12-16 to 2019-12-17 · near Hunnewell, Greenup, Kentucky

Event narrative

Multiple roads were closed due to flooding, including State Route 1 and 784 due to flooding along Lost Creek and Three Prong Branch. A vehicle drove into the high water along State Route 1, but the driver was able to self rescue and was not injured. Route 503 was closed due to high water on Culp Creek. Tygarts Creek also flooded upstream of Load, closing sections of State Routes 2 and 7. A 51 year old man tried to drive across the flooded section of Route 2, near the Wagener's General Store, on the morning of the 17th. Witnesses saw him get out of his truck as it was being swept away, but he was unable to swim to safety and drowned.

Wider weather episode

A strong storm system brought a prolonged period of moderate to heavy rainfall to the middle Ohio River Valley on the 15th and 16th. While rainfall amounts were never heavy enough to lead to flash flooding, when all was said and done, 2.5 to 3 inches of rain fell over a roughly 36 hour period. This led to flooding along creeks and streams, and eventually main stem rivers as the water worked through the system.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.3820, -82.8251)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 862699. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.