Flash flooding in Kentucky possible from incoming thunderstorms. What to know
Flash flooding in Kentucky is possible over the next couple of days as the National Weather Service is predicting repeated rain showers and thunderstorms from Thursday through Saturday.
The first round of rain is expected to start late Thursday evening and last until Friday morning. The NWS said 1 to 2 inches of rain is expected from the slow moving storms, which could produce significant flash flooding.
Some of the storms could produce severe weather. The NWS has the northwestern counties of Kentucky under a slight risk of severe weather, the second-highest risk assessment of five in the NWS’ storm prediction center.
Slight risk implies organized severe thunderstorms with low coverage and varying levels of intensity are expected. The main hazards from the storms are expected to be gusty winds and lightning.
The storms are expected to weaken as they travel east. Lexington is under a marginal risk for severe weather, the lowest risk assessment in the NWS’ storm prediction center.
Second round of rain
Around round of showers will move across Kentucky Saturday, dropping additional rainfall and increasing chances of flash flooding across the state. The NWS said Central Kentucky could experience significant flash flooding, particularly in areas that experience repeated rain showers.
The NWS has issued a flood watch for virtually the entire state from 2 p.m. Thursday through late Saturday night. The NWS said already wet soils will make flooding more susceptible, and some creeks and streams may rise out of their banks.
There is a 42% chance that Lexington gets at least two inches of rain by the time the showers depart the region Saturday night, according to the NWS. Other communities, such as Richmond, Bowling Green and Somerset, have larger than a 50% chance of getting at least 2 inches of rain.
“Heavy rainfall is expected tomorrow, with a risk of flash flooding across the state, especially in the central region,” Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday in a post on X. “Please prepare. Have your alerts on, avoid high water, and identify safe routes to higher ground if you are in a flood plain.”
Richmond and other communities are still recovering from a recent flood that left six people dead and damaged multiple homes and buildings. While touring damage in Madison County, Beshear said the Central Kentucky community was hit the hardest from the flood, and he expects a request for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be a “slam dunk.”
Torrential rain showers that lasted multiple days brought as much as 10 inches of rain to some areas of the state at the end of June, resulting in major flooding. Three deaths happened in Madison County, while the other deaths occurred in Hardin, Jackson and Jefferson counties, according to Beshear.
While Lexington was largely spared from the flood, it did receive multiple inches of rain, capping off the fourth-rainiest June in the city’s history. Lexington received 10.61 inches of rain in June, well above the monthly average of 4.27 inches and the most amount of rain the city has gotten in June since 1998.
Lexington has received 0.39 inches of rain so far in July, according to the NWS. The monthly average is 4.65.
