While the rain finally let up Monday, more of it is in the forecast this week, and Gov. Andy Beshear said at a Monday morning news conference several rivers and creeks remain at or above flood stage.
The death toll from the multi-day flooding event stands at three, as of Monday afternoon.
If you’ve been wondering just how historic this latest flood event to hit Kentucky is, here’s what to know.
How much rain did Kentucky get during the early April storm event?
Western Kentucky has seen the highest amounts of rainfall over the last week, as explained by Louisville-based National Weather Service meteorologist CJ Padgett.At 15.86 inches, no other county has reported more rainfall over the five-day period, from April 2 to 6, than Marshall County, Kentucky Mesonet data shows.
“That’s the highest we’ve seen anywhere in the state” for this flood event, Padgett told the Herald-Leader in an interview Monday.
Other parts of Western Kentucky have received near that amount, including Graves County (13.65 inches) and Muhlenberg County (12.39 inches), five-day totals from the Kentucky Mesonet showed as of April 7.
In Central Kentucky, areas have received upward of 10 to 13 inches of rain.
A bit further east, rainfall totals in the Bluegrass region along the Interstate 75 corridor range from 5 to 8 inches, while residents in Mercer County have seen 9 inches.
From west to east, one can generally trace higher to lower rainfall amounts. However, the most significant flooding in the state has occurred along the Kentucky and Green rivers, which cut through the central and southcentral parts of the state, Padgett said.
Record-breaking flooding in Frankfort
As of Monday morning, the Kentucky River at Frankfort seemed to be just a few inches shy of its record crest of 48.5 feet, Padgett said, citing preliminary observation data that put the river’s crest at 48.27 feet.The river’s highest crest was recorded Dec. 10, 1978, nearly 50 years ago.
“This will come in as the second highest crest ever recorded at that river gate in Frankfort,” Padgett said. “The record that it broke for No. 2 was set in 1937.”
Sunday, as the river continued to rise, Frankfort residents prepared by boarding up buildings and lining them with sand bags, including at a popular local ice cream shop.
Lexington already seeing one of its wettest Aprils
Just one week into April, Fayette County is already on track to see one of its rainiest on record. In fact, if the month ended April 7, it would rank the fifth wettest on record for Lexington, Padgett noted.“Just from this event alone, it’s placed April 2025 as the fifth wettest April on record for Lexington,” Padgett said.
As of Monday, two Kentucky Mesonet weather stations in Fayette County recorded 7.72 inches and 7.86 inches over the previous five days.
At the Blue Grass Airport, the NWS reported a total of 8.14 inches of rainfall during that period, Padgett said.
If Lexington continues to see more rain throughout the month, as is likely, it could surpass the one-month record for April set in 2011 at 12.7 inches of rainfall.
“This month will come down as one of the wettest on record for Lexington, just from five days of rain,” Padgett said.
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