Flash Flood in Missouri, August 14, 1997

Name: Flash Flood in Missouri, August 14, 1997
Start: 1997-08-14T21:00
End: 1997-08-14T22:30
Location: Missouri

August 14, 1997 · NWS PAH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $40,000
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.

The radar

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

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Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Butler

When: August 14, 9:00 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where: Butler County, Poplar Bluff
Property damage: $40,000
Coordinates: 36.716, -90.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Very slow-moving thunderstorms over the Poplar Bluff area dumped 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain over the city within 90 minutes. Participants at an outdoor event were stranded when floodwaters cut off access to the event grounds. Water rose to two feet above road level in some areas of the city. A section of Highway 67 north was covered with two feet of water.

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

Every storm in Missouri in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Missouri, August 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: 5614885.