06-04-2025
Thunder over Louisville fireworks show canceled due to severe flooding of Ohio River
Thunder of Louisville has been canceled and will not be rescheduled in 2025 due to the severe storms that have dropped near-record flooding across much of Kentucky, Louisville officials announced Saturday.
The annual fireworks and air show, scheduled for April 12, kicks of a series of festivities leading up to the May 3 Kentucky Derby. The remainder of those roughly 70 events are not affected , but Thunder, due to the extensive planning that goes into it, will not be rescheduled in 2025.
Thunder is considered the marquee event of the Kentucky Derby Festival. Except during COVID-19, Thunder over Louisville has never been canceled in its 36-year existence, Gibson said.
'We've made the very difficult decision to cancel Thunder Over Louisville this year. Believe me when I say we're just as disappointed,' Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO Matt Gibson said during a Saturday afternoon news conference. 'This was not a decision we came to very easily.'
'When you look at the projections for where the Ohio River is going to crest and how long its going to take to get back to its usual stage, this challenging, disappointing decision was not even a close decision,' Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg added.
'Over the last 24 hours, the Ohio River has risen more than five feet, and we expect it to significantly rise higher over the next 2-3 days.'
Though much of Louisville got a reprieve from rain and storms Saturday afternoon, evening and overnight rains are still expected to push Kentucky's largest city into near-record flooding levels. Since the storm has been more gradual rather than constant in Louisville, the city's Fire Chief Brian O'Neill urged people not to let their guards down.
'Since we haven't had this huge storm like we had earlier in the week — this has been more of a steady encroaching water and rain — don't let that lull you into a false sense of security,' O'Neill said. 'We have another system that's going to hit us (and) we're going to have a lot of heavy rains. Please try to stay safe.
Since Thursday, severe weather and torrential rain have battered much of the state, causing life-threatening flooding and thousands to lose power, brought on by a 'conveyor belt' of weather system that spans multiple states. Two people have died.
On Friday, Greenberg encouraged Louisvillians not to use their washing machines or dishwashers this weekend as a means of conserving water, as the city's sewer and stormwater systems are at capacity.
By Saturday afternoon, heavy rains had already swelled the Ohio River to flood levels. The river is on track to reach 'one of the top 10 flooding events' in the city's recorded history by the end of the weekend, Greenberg said.
In a news release from earlier in the day, Gibson added: 'This weather event and flooding is like nothing we've faced before, especially this close to Thunder. While we'd love to bring everyone together (April 12) to watch one of the best air shows and fireworks shows in the country, we know it's not logistically possible and would not be safe to do so.'
It's not logistically possible because the Ohio River, already having reached flood stage with more rain expected, will not recede enough over the next week to allow for organizers to set up necessary infrastructure for the event, or for barges carting fireworks to safely navigate the swollen waterway, Gibson explained.
'The height and the speed of the river will prevent us from doing that,' Gibson said.
City officials have installed a number of flood walls to protect against additional anticipated flooding from continued rainfall Saturday overnight. Factoring the additional rainfall forecast, the city expects more than 99% of the waterfront to be underwater.
