70
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$11.3M
Property damage
Flood in McCracken County, Kentucky: 70 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #142 nationally and #4 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flood in McCracken County, Kentucky: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flood in McCracken County is the 2010s, when 38 of the county's 70 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the McCracken County archive, flood makes up 13.3% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #142 for this hazard and #4 within Kentucky, putting it in the 95.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Mar is the peak month for flood in McCracken County with 13 recorded events, while Oct is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 2011 | ROWLANDTOWN | 0 | 1 | 4 | $50K |
| Mar 1, 2019 | RAGLAND | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 9, 2022 | TYLER | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 2025 | PADUCAH | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 16, 2025 | ROWLANDTOWN | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 16, 2025 | HARDMONEY | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 16, 2025 | MAXON | 0 | $0 |
| May 26, 2024 | TYLER | 0 | $0 |
| May 9, 2024 | REIDLAND | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 3, 2023 | ROWLANDTOWN | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 1, 2022 | PADUCAH | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 22, 2022 | ROWLANDTOWN | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 9, 2022 | TYLER | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from McCracken County
- Thunderstorm Wind 217
- Hail 76
- Flash Flood 73
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Moderate flooding continued on the Ohio River from late February. At the Paducah river gage, the river crested at 51.43 feet on the 2nd. Flood stage is 39 feet. This crest was just several inches lower than the Flood of March, 1997. A number of homes were evacuated in the county, including an area along Highway 1420 west of Paducah. This area is affected by backwater flooding of Massac Creek, which prompted the closure of Highways 1420 and 305. Numerous other roads were flooded and closed, mainly county roads. The floodgates were installed in the floodwall protecting the city of Paducah. Parks, roads, and boat ramps that were not protected by the floodwall were inundated.
Flooding of the Clarks River continued from late February. Several state roads were closed due to flooding along the Clarks River, which is a tributary of the Ohio River. Ohio River backwater was the main contributor to the flooding. Water was over Kentucky Highway 1255 (Bonds Road), Kentucky 131 near the Graves County line, Kentucky 787 near the Marshall County line, and Kentucky 284 between Reidland and Paducah. A few residences were threatened by rising water. Electrical power was cut to about a dozen homes on Kentucky 787.
During the height of the heavy rainfall, a couple of flood-prone intersections were flooded in Paducah. Following the heavy rain, creeks remained out of their banks. A few state roads near these flood-prone creeks were closed. These roads included Routes 994 and 1014 at Champion Creek and Route 339 at Mayfield Creek.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flood events are on record in McCracken County, Kentucky?
70 flood events are recorded in McCracken County between 1996 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flood recorded in McCracken County?
The strongest flood on record in McCracken County measured 0.
Where does the flood data for McCracken County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flood in McCracken County, Kentucky.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/kentucky/mccracken-county/flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.