Illinois, 1996

Flooding in Illinois, May 1 to 31, 1996

May 1 to 31, 1996 · NWS PAH · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

The Ohio River was above flood stage all month at Cairo and Brookport (Lock and Dam 52). The river crested around mid month at both places.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$80,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

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 PAH wrote it up.

The Ohio River was above flood stage all month at Cairo and Brookport (Lock and Dam 52). The river crested around mid month at both places. At Cairo, the crest was 53.5 feet, 13.5 feet above flood stage. Brookport crested at 46.6 feet, 9.6 feet over flood stage. Crop damage estimates were not yet available. Thousands of acres of Ohio River bottomlands were under as much as 12 feet of water. This delayed planting of some crops, or forced farmers to change the crop they planned to grow. The ferry from Cave In Rock, Illinois to the Kentucky shore was closed for well over a week because of water over Kentucky route 91. The flood gates were closed at Rosiclare, Illinois for the second time this year. Although most of the damage was to cropland, some property damage occurred to roads, campgrounds, and parks.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Gallatin

When
May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Gallatin forecast zone
Property damage
$80,000
Coordinates
37.763, -88.230 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Massac

When
May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Massac forecast zone
Coordinates
37.219, -88.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Pope

When
May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Pope forecast zone
Coordinates
37.413, -88.562 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Hardin

When
May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Hardin forecast zone
Coordinates
37.518, -88.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Alexander

When
May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Alexander forecast zone
Coordinates
37.192, -89.338 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Pulaski

When
May 1, 12:01 AM CST to May 31, 11:59 PM CST
Where
Pulaski forecast zone
Coordinates
37.223, -89.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Illinois in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, May 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: 5554973, 5554974, 5554975, 5554976, 5554977, 5554978.