Flood — Leslie, Kentucky

2020-02-11 to 2020-02-28 · near Confluence, Leslie, Kentucky

Event narrative

Local Emergency Management and media reported typical persistent high water in the town of Confluence due to high water levels as a result of water being held back by Buckhorn Lake. Impacts were seen to nearby homes as well as along Kentucky Highway 257.

Wider weather episode

Beginning Monday, February 10, light rain moved back into eastern Kentucky. This caused additional issues, while another round on Wednesday, February 12 into Thursday, February 13 brought continued river flooding along points on the Kentucky and Cumberland Rivers. Gusty winds up to 40 to 45 mph resulted in an isolated downed tree in the Blackey community of Letcher County due to the saturated nature of the ground, as well as a children's wooden playground being flipped and tossed 40-50 feet from its origin near Kernie in Magoffin County. In addition to high water on area roads, mudslides also continued to impact multiple highways. One of these near Williamson in northeast Pike County on Kentucky Highway 292 resulted in a multi day road closure.

The town of Confluence in Leslie County once again experienced flooding issues as water levels rose at Buckhorn Lake. This impacted spots along Kentucky Highway 257, including homes.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.2670, -83.3757)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 868519. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.