Flash Flood, De Kalb
- When
- May 17, 12:35 AM EST to 6:00 AM EST
- Where
- De Kalb County, N Dekalb County
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Crop damage
- $75,000
- Coordinates
- 41.398, -84.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Indiana, May 17, 1996
Five to eight inches of rain fell across Northern DeKalb Countyproducing flooding of many roads with many roads impassable. Serious flooding along Fish Creek produced one fatality when a 33 year old female tried to drive through flood waters and was swept away by the water drowning her.
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
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Crop damage
- $75,000
- 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 IWX wrote it up.
Five to eight inches of rain fell across Northern DeKalb Countyproducing flooding of many roads with many roads impassable. Serious flooding along Fish Creek produced one fatality when a 33 year old female tried to drive through flood waters and was swept away by the water drowning her. Several homes, also, sustained minor damage due to the flooding.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, De Kalb | 1996-05-17 | 33 | Female | In Water | Direct |
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 Minnesota, May 17, 1996
- Heat in Missouri, May 17 to 20, 1996
- Flash Flood in Ohio, May 17, 1996
- Flood in Ohio, May 17, 1996
- Hail in Iowa, May 17, 1996
- Tornado in North Dakota, May 17, 1996
- Hail in Nebraska, May 17, 1996
- Tornado in Minnesota, May 17, 1996
- Tornado in Idaho, May 17, 1996
- Tornado in Idaho, May 17, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Dakota, May 17, 1996
- Flash Flood in North Dakota, May 17, 1996
More
Every storm in Indiana in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, 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: 5559585.