Flash Flood, Massac
- When
- March 1, 5:30 PM CST to 8:30 PM CST
- Where
- Massac County, Metropolis
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 37.219, -88.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Illinois, March 1, 1997
Around 6 inches of rain in 24 hours caused extensive flooding of streams and roads. A state of emergency was declared by the Illinois governor, which was later upgraded to a federal disaster area.
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
- $50,000
- 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 PAH wrote it up.
Around 6 inches of rain in 24 hours caused extensive flooding of streams and roads. A state of emergency was declared by the Illinois governor, which was later upgraded to a federal disaster area. Two county roads were closed in Massac County. One was closed by a bridge washout, and water rushing across the other road created a 15-foot wide gap. So many roads were damaged that the county highway department ran out of barricades.
The radar
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 18 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:30 UTC.
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 Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flood in Kentucky, March 1 to 6, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornadoes in Tennessee, March 1, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flooding in Tennessee, March 1 to 11, 1997
- Tornado in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Tornadoes in Arkansas, March 1, 1997
- Flash Flood in Ohio, March 1 to 2, 1997
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, March 1, 1997
More
Every storm in Illinois in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, March 1997
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: 5594920.