2,067 first-hand accounts of flood events in Illinois, ranked by impact. Each is a NOAA-written narrative of the moment.
A multi-faceted storm system brought several periods of heavy rain to central and southeast Illinois from December 26th through 28th. The system began to spread rain into the region from the southwest during the early morning hours of Saturday, December 26th, with the rain…
Read the full account →A nearly stationary frontal boundary interacting with an unseasonably warm and moist airmass brought widespread showers and thunderstorms to parts of central Illinois from the later afternoon of April 17th through the morning of April 18th.
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 →A large thunderstorm complex tracked east-northeast across southern Illinois during the morning. These storms produced heavy rainfall, sufficient for some flash flooding in parts of southeast Illinois.
Read the full account →North of the confluence of the Ohio River, the Mississippi River remained above flood stage all month. At the Thebes river gage, the river crested at 39.67 feet on the 5th. Flood stage is 33 feet.
Read the full account →Moderate to major river flooding developed during the month. After a wet January, the active weather pattern continued into February. Frequent moderate to heavy rain events continued pushing not only the monthly and seasonal precipitation totals higher but also the rivers.
Read the full account →Moderate to major river flooding developed during the month. After a wet January, the active weather pattern continued into February. Frequent moderate to heavy rain events continued pushing not only the monthly and seasonal precipitation totals higher but also the rivers.
Read the full account →Moderate to major river flooding developed during the month. After a wet January, the active weather pattern continued into February. Frequent moderate to heavy rain events continued pushing not only the monthly and seasonal precipitation totals higher but also the rivers.
Read the full account →Several rivers remained above flood stage from May. On the Mississippi River, major flooding continued through the month of June. Backwater from the Mississippi kept moderate flooding going on the lowest reaches of the Ohio River as well as the Big Muddy River.
Read the full account →A multi-faceted storm system brought several periods of heavy rain to central and southeast Illinois from December 26th through 28th. The system began to spread rain into the region from the southwest during the early morning hours of Saturday, December 26th, with the rain…
Read the full account →Heavy rain on February 28th sent the mainstem rivers above flood stage early in March. Minor to moderate flooding occurred on the Ohio, Wabash, and Little Wabash Rivers. Near to above normal precipitation in March kept some locations above flood stage through the entire month.
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 →A slow-moving cold front triggered showers and thunderstorms across north-central Illinois during the morning of June 24th. Due to the very humid airmass in place across the region, the storms were efficient rain-producers, with much of Stark, Peoria, and Woodford counties…
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 copious amounts of rain which occurred in west-central and central Illinois from April 17th into the morning of April 18th resulted in a continuation of widespread flooding until the morning of April 22nd.
Read the full account →Moderate to major river flooding during the month of February ended or greatly subsided in March. After a wet January and February, the active weather pattern became quieter in March.
Read the full account →Repeating rounds of showers and thunderstorms produced isolated flash flooding of roads. A 30 to 40 knot west-southwest wind flow in the lower levels of the atmosphere was responsible for strong transport of moisture and instability.
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…
Read the full account →A series of slow-moving lines and clusters of thunderstorms moved east-southeast across southern Illinois from the midday hours through the early evening hours. The storms produced flooding rains and isolated strong wind gusts.
Read the full account →Heavy rain on February 28th sent the mainstem rivers above flood stage early in March. Minor to moderate flooding occurred on the Ohio, Wabash, and Little Wabash Rivers. Near to above normal precipitation in March kept some locations above flood stage through the entire month.
Read the full account →Isolated supercell thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon over Livingston and McLean counties and tracked northeast toward the Chicago metro through the early evening.
Read the full account →A multi-faceted storm system brought several periods of heavy rain to central and southeast Illinois from December 26th through 28th. The system began to spread rain into the region from the southwest during the early morning hours of Saturday, December 26th, with the rain…
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 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.
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