Saturday’s rainfall was among some of the highest single-day totals in recorded weather history in Trigg and Christian counties but was not the most, according to National Weather Service records.
The weather service reported 5.86 inches of rain in Christian County on Saturday while the Kentucky Mesonet site recorded 5.85 inches.
Saturday was the sixth-highest amount of rain in a day according to the weather service. The single-day record of 7.75 inches was received in Hopkinsville on September 26, 2002, as Tropical Storm Isadore rolled through the Southeast.
On March 2, 1997, 7.06 inches of rain fell and flooded nearly 200 homes along the Little River in Hopkinsville.
Over six inches of rain was recorded on August 29, 2005, April 2, 2012, and November 24, 1900, according to the National Weather Service.
The normal precipitation for February is 4.06 inches. With Saturday’s rain and Sunday’s snow, Christian County has 8.7 inches this month which ranks as the fourth wettest February on record. February 1989 gave us 13.33 inches of rain.
The South Fork of the Little River at the Hopkinsville Bypass crested at 20.16 feet Saturday afternoon at 4:45. It was at 13.84 feet at 4:45 Sunday afternoon and was forecast to be at 10 feet Monday afternoon at 4:00. The record crest was 21.35 feet in July 2016.
The Trigg County Mesonet site in the western part of the county recorded 5.95 inches of rain on Saturday and caused the highest level of flooding at West Cadiz Park in 14 years. It also caused water over the roads in areas not seen since at least March of 1997 or February of 1989.
The weather service shows the single-day record in Trigg County at 7.08 inches recorded on October 5, 1910, in the Lock E area of western Trigg County.
The two-day rain total was 8.84 inches on February 14 and 15 in 1989.
The Little River in Trigg County at Hardy Road crested at 21.8 feet Sunday morning at 3:30, which was just below the record crest of 22.4 feet. Sunday night at 6:00, the level had dropped to 19.9 feet.
