Flood WARNING in effect along the Kentucky River – Flood Watch for Lexington

DEM Blogger

February 28, 2021

The National Weather Service in Louisville has issued a Flood Warning for the Kentucky River at Ford Lock from this afternoon at 4:00pm until further notice.

At 10:30 AM EST Sunday the level of the Kentucky River was 23.9 feet. Flood stage is 26.0 feet. Minor flooding is forecast. Forecast…The river will rise above flood stage late this afternoon to 28.6 feet early tomorrow afternoon. It will then fall to 27.9 feet and begin rising again early Tuesday morning. It will rise to 29.0 feet Wednesday morning. It will then fall below flood stage Thursday afternoon.

A Flood Warning means that flooding is imminent or occurring. All interested parties should take necessary precautions immediately. Turn around, don`t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles. Please report flooding to your local law enforcement agency when you can do so safely and have them relay your report to the National Weather Service in Louisville.

Note: This Flood Warning ONLY affects the area of Fayette County adjacent to the Kentucky River.

Check the Kentucky River level at Winchester

Check the Kentucky River level at Valley View

Check the Kentucky River level at Camp Nelson

Conditions are conducive to sanitary sewer overflows. If you notice an overflow, avoid the area and report the situation by calling LexCall at 311 or 425-2255. If you call outside of call center operating hours, you will be given instructions on how to make a water quality report.

The Valley View Ferry is closed until further notice due to high water conditions. http://www.lexingtonky.gov/index.aspx?page=662

A persistent band of moderate to heavy rainfall overnight has produced 1-3 inches of rain across portions of south-central and eastern Kentucky. Localized totals around 2.50 inches of rain over the past 24 hours have occurred in the Lake Cumberland and Dale Hollow Lake areas.

Additional heavy rainfall is expected tonight through Sunday night. A Flood Watch remains in effect for most of the region. A band of heavy rain and scattered storms will lift from south to north tonight, and the heaviest rain is expected to stall over southern Indiana and north-central Kentucky Sunday morning. Showers and storms will then spread southeast across central Kentucky through the day on Sunday. Some thunderstorms on Sunday could be strong with a threat for damaging winds, but confidence in severe weather is low at this time. Stay tuned to the latest forecasts.

Flooding remains the primary concern through the rest of the weekend. Torrential rainfall from storms could result in localized flash flooding on Sunday. Minor river flooding is likely to develop by Monday and Tuesday as runoff makes its way into area streams and river systems.

Total rainfall in the Lexington area is expected to be between 2 and 4 inches. Some flooding of low lying roads and other areas is possible.