The Ohio River Great Flood of January 1937 surpassed all prior floods during the previous 175 years of modern occupancy of the Ohio River Valley. The overall scope of the flood surpassed the major floods of 1884 and 1773, and geological evidence suggests the 1937 flood outdid any previous flood. Seventy percent of Louisville was submerged, forcing 175,000 residents to flee. 90 percent of Jeffersonville, Indiana was flooded. One contemporary source estimated that damage was done to the tune of $250,000,000 (1937 dollars)...that's over $3.3 billion in current dollars!!

At Louisville, the crest of the 1937 flood is still a full ten feet higher than the second highest crest (set in 1945)! At McAlpine Lock, the 1937 flood crested at 85.4 feet. By way of comparison, flood stage is 55 feet, and the current stage is about 28 feet.

Louisville received fifteen inches of rain in only 12 days, from the 13th to the 24th of January. Over 19 inches of rain fell over the course of the month. No measurable snow fell during the entire month. The NWS (Weather Bureau) office at the time was located in the Lincoln Building at the corner of Fourth and Market.