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U.S.|What We Know About the Storms That Keep Flooding Kentucky
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/17/us/kentucky-storm-flooding.html
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Storms have overwhelmed the state in recent years. On top of the floods, snow is expected soon.
Feb. 17, 2025Updated 4:16 p.m. ET
Sheets of rain drenched Kentucky in recent days, causing floods that turned roads and neighborhoods into rivers in a part of the country that has been pummeled by severe weather in recent years.
Since Friday, as much as seven inches of rain has fallen onto the state, according to the National Weather Service, causing swollen rivers to overflow into communities, including some that are still reeling from catastrophic floods in 2022. That year, entire homes in eastern Kentucky were washed away. Over the weekend, more than 170 members of the state’s National Guard, along with search-and-rescue crews from Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina and Indiana, were called in to help.
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Now the region is bracing for a cold front and even more precipitation — this time in the form of snow. As much as six inches may fall in the days ahead, according to Andy Beshear, the Kentucky governor, which is expected to complicate rescues and cleanup efforts.
“This is one of the most serious weather events that we’ve dealt with in at least a decade,” Mr. Beshear said.
When did the storm begin?
Rain began Friday night and continued through Saturday, quickly leading to rising rivers that spilled over their banks. Snow that already coated much of the state melted, adding to the deluge.
