2,067 first-hand accounts of flood events in Illinois, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
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 →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 →Severe thunderstorms produced heavy rain, flash flooding, wind damage and a few tornadoes during the evening hours of June 28th. A wake low after earlier thunderstorms caused high winds across part of central Illinois including a measured gust to 61 mph at Pontiac Airport…
Read the full account →Slow moving thunderstorms dumped between 4 and 9 inches of rain over Menard county. All major roads around Petersburg were closed for a few hours (Rt. 97, Rt. 123, and Rt. 29), so the town was isolated for a while.
Read the full account →Heavy rain on February 28th sent many rivers above flood stage early in March. Minor to moderate flooding occurred on the Ohio, Big Muddy, and Little Wabash Rivers.
Read the full account →Very heavy rain fell over ground that was saturated since late April. Franklin County was declared a federal disaster area as a result of total damage since late April. The damage total listed for this event is a sum total for flooding since late April.
Read the full account →The Ohio River was above flood stage for virtually the entire month from Grand Chain to the confluence of the Mississippi River at Cairo. Major flooding occurred from Grand Chain to Cairo, where flooding was the worst since the Flood of 1997.
Read the full account →Several episodes of heavy rain from June 2nd through the 4th, and again on the 6th, produced copious amounts of rain and extensive flooding in eastern Illinois which persisted for two weeks.
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 →Heavy rains fell over the area while soils were still partially frozen. These widespread two-to-four inch rains came as area rivers and streams were running high from snowmelt from the previous week.
Read the full account →A southerly wind flow of very moist and unstable air fed a slow-moving thunderstorm complex. To the south of the complex, surface dew points were in the lower 70's and instability was quite high.
Read the full account →Heavy rains fell over the area while soils were still partially frozen. These widespread two-to-four inch rains came as area rivers and streams were running high from snowmelt from the previous week.
Read the full account →Hot and humid conditions prevailed across the region July 27, as a warm front lifted northward into northeast Iowa. Showers and thunderstorms developed along the Highway 20 corridor in Dubuque, Jo Daviess and Stephenson Counties during the early evening hours of July 27.
Read the full account →Water from snow-melt in the upper Midwest moved south through the Mississippi River basin causing major flooding along the Mississippi River.||The snowfall was well above normal for the 2010-11 winter in much of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Read the full account →Water from snow-melt in the upper Midwest moved south through the Mississippi River basin causing major flooding along the Mississippi River.||The snowfall was well above normal for the 2010-11 winter in much of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Read the full account →Water from snow-melt in the upper Midwest moved south through the Mississippi River basin causing major flooding along the Mississippi River.||The snowfall was well above normal for the 2010-11 winter in much of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Read the full account →Water from snow-melt in the upper Midwest moved south through the Mississippi River basin causing major flooding along the Mississippi River.||The snowfall was well above normal for the 2010-11 winter in much of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Read the full account →Water from snow-melt in the upper Midwest moved south through the Mississippi River basin causing major flooding along the Mississippi River.||The snowfall was well above normal for the 2010-11 winter in much of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
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 →Water from snow-melt in the upper Midwest moved south through the Mississippi River basin causing major flooding along the Mississippi River.||The snowfall was well above normal for the 2010-11 winter in much of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
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 cold front moved southeastward through south central Illinois and eastern and southern Missouri during the night. Strong thunderstorms located ahead of the front in southern Illinois occurred along a weakening axis of instability.
Read the full account →Several episodes of heavy rain from June 2nd through the 4th, and again on the 6th, produced copious amounts of rain and extensive flooding in eastern Illinois which persisted for two weeks.
Read the full account →U.S. 45 north of Enfield was covered with water, as were several secondary roads. This heavy rain fell on already saturated ground. Rainfall totals from late April into early May were around 12 inches. White County was declared a federal disaster area.
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