Kentucky Streams and Rivers on the Rise

April 2015 has proved to be a wetter than average month across Kentucky thus far. Louisville, Lexington, and Frankfort are all on pace to become the wettest April on record and the Bowling Green Airport has already picked up nearly 6″ of rainfall through the first half of the month. All of this rainfall has led to some river flooding across the state.

Locally, Drakes Creek near Alvaton crested overnight at a minor flood stage of 22.84 feet (0.84 feet above flood stage). Drakes Creek is expected to slowly recede below flood stage today but any additional precipitation will slow the river’s recession.

The Barren River is currently below flood stage but the Green River at Woodbury is expected to continue rising well above flood stage today. The current forecast is for the Green River to peak at a minor flood stage of 39.6 feet around 11pm CST tonight. This crest would be 6.6 feet above flood stage and the current river forecast does not show the river receding below flood stage until this weekend.

As a result, a flood warning is in effect for Alvaton until Sunday. At a flood stage of 40 feet the river floods Old Ferry River Road in Aberdeen and the current flood forecast compares to a previous crest of 39.8 feet on Apr 15, 2011.

The folks attending Thunder Over Louisville on Saturday may have less Waterfront space as the current flood forecast predicts the Ohio River will reach flood stage in Louisville Friday night into early Saturday.

Additional river forecasts and information from the NWS can be found on their hydrology webpage. Be sure to stay up-to-date with any river forecasts as the amount of precipitation that falls this week can cause changes to the forecast.