2,067 first-hand accounts of flood events in Illinois, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
After several days of repeated rainfall, strong thunderstorms produced significant flash flooding across portions of Knox County during the evening of May 28th.
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 →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 →Short lines of thunderstorms with embedded circulations moved across southern Illinois during the afternoon of the 19th. Widespread heavy rain caused isolated flash flooding.
Read the full account →Widespread rainfall amounts from 4 to 7 inches in 24 hours caused extensive flooding. A pickup truck stalled in high water in rural Saline County. By the time the owner returned to it, it was submerged under 6 feet of water.
Read the full account →Major flooding of the Mississippi River occurred. The river rose above flood stage at Thebes on May 8, then reached its crest of 44.3 feet on May 18. Flood stage at Thebes is 33 feet. This resulted in extensive flooding of farmland and threats to some developments.
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 →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 →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 →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 →Significant flooding developed after two thunderstorm complexes crossed southern Illinois, bringing 72-hour rainfall totals to nearly one foot in isolated locations. A large complex of thunderstorms moved southeast across southern Illinois during the evening hours of the 29th.
Read the full account →Areas of low pressure moving along a stationary from northwest Missouri across central parts of Illinois and Indiana produced several rounds of thunderstorms with moderate to heavy rainfall.
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 →Scattered thunderstorms produced heavy rain and severe winds across northeastern Illinois during the early evening hours. Additional thunderstorms developed overnight producing heavy rain that resulted in flooding.
Read the full account →Widespread flooding continued from April into May across southern Illinois. Following excessive rain in April, a final dose of heavy rain came between April 30 and May 2. Numerous rounds of showers and thunderstorms produced additional average rainfall amounts of 4 to 6 inches.
Read the full account →The large mainstem rivers remained well above flood stage following several rounds of heavy rain in late February. February monthly precipitation was 4 to 7 inches above normal, with monthly totals of 8 to 10 inches common.
Read the full account →The remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon merged with a cold front over the mid-section of the country. The tropical moisture squeezed out by the front produced widespread heavy rainfall.
Read the full account →Very heavy rains caused many roads to become impassable across the county. This rain compounded the flood damage that occurred in late April. A cooperative observer in Marion reported 7.33 inches of rain, most of which fell in a three hour period.
Read the full account →A series of thunderstorms developed over Logan and Mclean Counties...mainly along I-55. The Weather Service office in Lincoln recorded 4 inches of rain in 3 hours. Various other sites recorded between 2 to 3 inches in a short amount of time that evening.
Read the full account →Several rounds of thunderstorms struck Eastern Iowa, far Northeast Missouri, and Nothern Illinois from mid afternoon through midnight. A wake low developed behind one line of storms and produced an extended period of wind over 43 knots (50 mph) across parts of Eastern Iowa and…
Read the full account →Severe thunderstorms formed over parts of the Chicago metro area during the early afternoon of August 3rd. The storms produced hail up to the size of golf balls and also produced very heavy rain and flooding.
Read the full account →A line of severe thunderstorms moved east across north central Illinois during the early afternoon hours of July 27th. Additional thunderstorms developed ahead of the first line across the southern portions of the Chicago Metro area producing very heavy rain and widespread…
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