Flash Flood, Benton
- When
- July 21, 1:20 AM CST
- Where
- Benton County, Warsaw
- Deaths
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Coordinates
- 38.295, -93.288 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Missouri, July 21, 1996
Two young women drowned when their car was swept off a flooded low water bridge. The current took the car about a half-mile downstream.
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
- 2
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $10,000
- 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 SGF wrote it up.
Two young women drowned when their car was swept off a flooded low water bridge. The bridge was covered by 2 feet of water.The current took the car about a half-mile downstream.
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, Benton | 1996-07-21 | 18 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
| Flash Flood, Benton | 1996-07-21 | 17 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | 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
- Hail in North Dakota, July 21, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, July 21, 1996
- Hail in South Dakota, July 21, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 21, 1996
- Flash Flood in Tennessee, July 21 to 22, 1996
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 21, 1996
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 21, 1996
- Tornado in Kansas, July 21, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, July 21, 1996
- Hail in Kansas, July 21, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Kansas, July 21, 1996
- Tornado in Indiana, July 21, 1996
More
Every storm in Missouri in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, July 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: 5566828.