Flash Flood — Fleming, Kentucky

2020-05-18 · near Mt Carmel, Fleming, Kentucky

Event narrative

Emergency Management reported flowing water over the highway just northeast of Mt. Carmel.

Wider weather episode

A slow moving low pressure system drifted across the Ohio Valley on May 18 and 19, bringing several rounds of heavy rain to the eastern reaches of the Commonwealth. The hardest hit areas spanned from the Cumberland Valley to the Bluegrass region where widespread rainfall amounts of 3-6 inches fell over the two day period. This caused several road closures and flooding of low lying areas as points on the Red, Kentucky, and Cumberland Rivers reached minor to moderate flood stage. In Jackson County, a couple of water rescues had to be performed as motorists became trapped.

Flash flooding was confined to the afternoon and evening hours of May 18th across portions of Pulaski and Fleming Counties, while isolated severe thunderstorm winds occurred in Laurel and Jackson Counties. Additionally, a home near Somerset was hit by lightning while mudslides occurred near Bledsoe in Harlan County on U.S. Highway 421, on Kentucky Highway 1110 south of Jackson in Breathitt County, and on Proctor Road near Beattyville in Lee County due to the abundant rainfall.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.4900, -83.6197)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 882098. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.