Weather forecasters said last week’s rain would reach historic levels, and they proved to be right.
Several counties in western Kentucky set new records for two, three, and four-day rainfall totals.
Trigg County received 14.56 inches of rain at its Mesonet site, which is about three months of rain in five days. Even though Saturday’s total of 5.3 inches was two inches below the single-day record set in 1910, Friday and Saturday’s total of 9.5 inches was more than the previous record of 8.84 inches on February 14-15, 1989.
The three-day total of 12.13 inches from Thursday to Saturday also broke the previous high of 10.39 inches, also in February of 1989.
Christian County received 14.09 inches of rain at its Mesonet site. Friday and Saturday’s two-day total of 8.48 inches was less than the record of 9.95 inches in March of 1997. However, the three-day total from Thursday to Saturday of 12.11 inches broke the old mark of 10.85 inches, also in March of 1997.
The Caldwell County Mesonet site received 13.39 inches of rain from Wednesday to Sunday. Saturday’s total of 5.52 inches was less than the 1960 record of 7.2 inches. Friday and Saturday’s total was 7.67 inches, which was slightly less than the record of 8.8 inches in 1960.
The three-day total from Thursday to Saturday was 10.61 inches at the Mesonet site, right at the record of 10.67 inches set in February of 1989.
The Todd County Mesonet site in the southern part of the county received 10.12 inches of rain from Wednesday through Sunday. Friday and Saturday’s total of 5.36 inches was below the two-day record of 7.61 inches received in May 2010. The three-day total of 8.21 inches from Thursday through Saturday was near the record of 8.97 inches set in May 2010.
Totals in the northern part of the county totaled nearly 12.5 inches, with the three-day total of 10.6 inches near Kirkmansville eclipsing the three-day record by over four inches.
The Hopkins County Mesonet site received 13.14 inches from Wednesday to Sunday. Friday and Saturday’s total of 7.70 inches was less than the two-day record of 11.79 inches set in March 1997. The three-day total from Thursday to Saturday was 10.2 inches, below the record of 12.75 inches, also set in 1997.
The National Weather Service covers 58 counties in five states. The Marshall County Mesonet site, located four miles north of Benton, received 15.59 inches for the four days ending at midnight Saturday night. That broke the old record of 15.53 inches set in Williamsville, Mo., on August 13-16, 2016.
The Graves County, Kentucky coop station, located two miles north of Mayfield, also broke the record, getting 15.55 inches over the same four-day period.
