2,067 first-hand accounts of flood events in Illinois, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
A series of thunderstorm complexes over a period of several days resulted in locally significant flash flooding. A cold front stalled across the Lower Ohio and Mid-Mississippi Valleys, where tropical moisture was already in place.
Read the full account →A massive flood crest moved down the Ohio River during the first few weeks of March. Around 10 inches of rain fell in the middle Ohio River Valley from the Louisville area to Cincinnati within a one to three day period.
Read the full account →Torrential rainfall amounts from 6 to 12 inches occurred over a two-day period, causing an historic flood event. A very slow-moving cold front over southwest Illinois and southeast Missouri provided the focus for prolonged heavy rainfall.
Read the full account →Flooding along parts of the Mississippi River surpassed the Great Flood of 1993. Along most other rivers, the flooding was relatively minor. The Governor of Illinois declared some counties disaster areas, including the Mississippi River counties of Alexander and Jackson.
Read the full account →Several rounds of widespread heavy rainfall tracked northeast across southern Illinois. These rounds of heavy rain produced localized flooding of roads.
Read the full account →An extremely humid and unstable air mass on Saturday July 23 set the stage for strong to severe storms to develop mid to late afternoon along the I-90 corridor in far northern Illinois.
Read the full account →The Wabash River remained above flood stage from late March through much of April. Even though rainfall was pretty close to normal in April, the flooding continued from late March because the heavy rainfall in March primed the ground for more flooding.
Read the full account →Widespread river flooding was observed on the Ohio River for most of the month. Even though rainfall was pretty close to normal in April, flooding continued because the heavy rainfall in March primed the ground for more flooding.
Read the full account →Widespread river flooding was observed on the Ohio River for most of the month. Even though rainfall was pretty close to normal in April, flooding continued because the heavy rainfall in March primed the ground for more flooding.
Read the full account →Widespread river flooding was observed on the Ohio River for most of the month. Even though rainfall was pretty close to normal in April, flooding continued because the heavy rainfall in March primed the ground for more flooding.
Read the full account →Heavy rainfall in March set the stage for major flooding when record-setting rains fell in April and May. At Paducah, 15.91 inches of rain fell in April, which was 10.96 inches above normal.
Read the full account →During the evening, clusters of storms developed just north of a surface warm front that extended from the Missouri bootheel northeastward along the Ohio River.
Read the full account →During the evening, clusters of storms developed just north of a surface warm front that extended from the Missouri bootheel northeastward along the Ohio River.
Read the full account →A series of heavy rainfall events in April, followed by another heavy rainfall event in early May, kept many rivers above flood stage for all or most of the month. Some of the river flooding was major.
Read the full account →A series of heavy rainfall events in April, followed by another heavy rainfall event in early May, kept many rivers above flood stage for all or most of the month. Some of the river flooding was major.
Read the full account →Powerful and damaging thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois producing widespread wind damage. The most intense wind damage occurred along a path which began in far western Dupage County near the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Washington Street in West Chicago and…
Read the full account →The remnants of hurricane Ike moved across northern Illinois during the morning hours of September 14th. This system produced a second round of very heavy rain after a period of heavy rain just 24 hours earlier across many of the same areas.
Read the full account →Strong to severe thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois during the afternoon and evening hours of July 23rd producing strong winds. Additional thunderstorms developed in the late evening of July 23rd and lasted in the early morning hours of July 24th producing very heavy…
Read the full account →Widespread river flooding was observed on the Ohio River for most of the month. Even though rainfall was pretty close to normal in April, flooding continued because the heavy rainfall in March primed the ground for more flooding.
Read the full account →Low pressure tracking across north-central Illinois triggered widespread showers and thunderstorms during the evening of June 28th. Some of the storms produced damaging wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph and hail as large as ping-pong balls.
Read the full account →A weak upper-level disturbance triggered scattered thunderstorms across central Illinois on June 26th. Many of the storms produced locally heavy rainfall and areas of flash flooding, while one cell dropped nickel-sized hail in Bridgeport in Lawrence County.
Read the full account →Torrential rainfall amounts from 6 to 12 inches occurred over a two-day period, causing an historic flood event. A very slow-moving cold front over southwest Illinois and southeast Missouri provided the focus for prolonged heavy rainfall.
Read the full account →Heavy rainfall in March set the stage for major flooding when record-setting rains fell in April and May. At Paducah, 15.91 inches of rain fell in April, which was 10.96 inches above normal.
Read the full account →Thunderstorms intensified within a zone of strong southerly low level winds that provided abundant warmth and moisture. These strong low level winds enhanced wind shear, which promoted the development of supercells with isolated tornadoes.
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