Flash Flood in Illinois, June 6 to 7, 1996

Name: Flash Flood in Illinois, June 6 to 7, 1996
Start: 1996-06-06T15:00
End: 1996-06-07T03:00
Location: Illinois

June 6 to 7, 1996 · NWS LOT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Slow moving thunderstorms dumped 3 to 6 inches of rain in less than 3 hours. Flash flooding occurred over parts of LaSalle County.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.

Slow moving thunderstorms dumped 3 to 6 inches of rain in less than 3 hours. Flash flooding occurred over parts of LaSalle County. Several county roads were closed. Part of East 19th Road, north of Ottawa was washed out. There were many flooded basements and yards in northern sections of Ottawa. Flash flooding left several people homeless in Utica. Residents of a trailer park were evacuated as Clark's Run Creek levels rose rapidly from a few inches to over 8 feet. As much as 3 inches of rain fell in an hour at Utica. Logs and debris were deposited on railroad tracks at Utica. Volunteers sandbagged in downtown Utica to protect businesses from flood waters. The parking lot and picnic areas were flooded at Starved Rock State Park.

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, La Salle

When: June 6, 3:00 PM CST to June 7, 3:00 AM CST
Where: La Salle County, Countywide
Coordinates: 41.344, -88.886 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, June 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5561562.