Flash Flood, Lawrence
- When
- May 8, 6:30 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Lawrence County, Birds
- Property damage
- $250,000
- Coordinates
- 38.720, -87.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Illinois, May 8, 1996
Slow moving thunderstorms dumped between 3 and 4 inches of rain over the extreme northern portions of Lawrence county. The heavy rains caused flash flooding conditions in the town of Birds when a nearby creek, Brushy Creek) got out of its banks.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $250,000
- 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 ILX wrote it up.
Slow moving thunderstorms dumped between 3 and 4 inches of rain over the extreme northern portions of Lawrence county. The heavy rains caused flash flooding conditions in the town of Birds when a nearby creek, Brushy Creek) got out of its banks. This forced the evacuation of 213 of the town's 215 people. One woman had to be rescued when the car she was trying to move out of harms way was pushed down stream from her home. The car hit a bridge abutment and she had to be pulled out of the passengers' side window. No injuries were reported, but property damage was extensive. There was $250,000 in road and bridge damage, though no estimate of private property damage was available yet.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Indiana, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Kentucky, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in Illinois, May 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in Nebraska, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in Ohio, May 8, 1996
- Flash Flood in Illinois, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Indiana, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Nebraska, May 8, 1996
- Tornado in Kentucky, May 8, 1996
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: 5561525.