PROJECT ALERT NOTICE (KY) Moderate to Major Flooding occurring in Kentucky

Date: Mon, 01 Mar 2021 11:04:24 EST

Summary: Moderate to Major Flooding impacting most of eastern Kentucky.

Moderate to major flooding (National Weather Service criteria) is impacting central and eastern Kentucky. A series of low pressure systems have dropped 3 to 5 inch rains over a good portion of central and eastern Kentucky over the weekend. The situation was made worse because antecedent soil conditions were already saturated due to melting snow. Major watersheds impacted are the upper Kentucky River, Green River and Licking River basins.

Many sites on the upper Kentucky River are above a 25-year flood event and are likely at the 50-year flood event. As it stands right now, it looks like one site on the upper Kentucky River may reach a record stage.

All river gages remain operational to capture this flooding event.

A total of six USGS crews from the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science center are out measuring high water today. Two crews from the Louisville field office are currently working on the upper Kentucky River, while one crew from the Williamsburg field office is working on the Green and Licking River basins in Kentucky. Some of the sites in the Licking and Green River basins have not had a measurement this high since the mid-1980's. One crew from the Indianapolis field office is measuring high water on the White River basin, in Indianapolis, for rating development. Additionally, two crews from the Columbus field office are out today, primarily for rating development. One crew is working on the Little Miami River basin in the Cincinnati area, while the other crew is working on the Licking River basin (in Ohio) near Newark, Ohio.

There has been interaction with numerous State offices in Kentucky, including the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection.