Record flash flooding along the North Fork Kentucky River is surging into the Kentucky River, raising river levels.
The North Fork Kentucky River and the creeks that feed into it in eastern Kentucky spilled over the banks Thursday as more extreme rain amounts fell across the region. The flood levels in Whitesburg, Kentucky surpassed a previous record set in 1957 by over 5 feet, according to provisional automatic data from the United States Geological Survey.
The gauge has since stopped reporting data.
“This gauge was destroyed by floodwaters on 7/28/2022. We are working to get a temporary one installed as soon as possible,” the USGS said.
Nearby creeks, including the Carr Creek Lake near Sassafras, Kentucky, rose over 15 feet in less than 12 hours, according to a USGS gauge, but are now leveling off or falling.
The North Fork Kentucky River gauge, located down the river in Jackson, Kentucky, crested around 2:30 a.m. EDT this morning at 43.47 feet, setting a new record. The previous record crest was 43.10 feet, set on February 4, 1939.
Water levels are still in a major flood stage — Level 3 of 3 — but are forecast to gradually decrease over the next 24 to 48 hours. The current forecast has the river at this location dropping to moderate flood stage (Level 2 of 3) by Friday evening and below flood levels by Saturday evening.
Use this map to track where the flooding has been the heaviest over the last 24 hours.
CNN’s Haley Brink contributed to this report.
