Missouri, 1999

Flash Flooding in Missouri, January 21 to 22, 1999

January 21 to 22, 1999 · NWS PAH · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Thunderstorms with very heavy rain repeatedly moved over the same areas during the evening. The axis of heaviest rain occurred closer to the Mississippi River, where Cape Girardeau received 6 to 7 inches of rain.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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
$70,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

Thunderstorms with very heavy rain repeatedly moved over the same areas during the evening. The axis of heaviest rain occurred closer to the Mississippi River, where Cape Girardeau received 6 to 7 inches of rain. Even so, two to four inches of rain from Doniphan to Perryville caused flash flooding of some roads and small streams. In Poplar Bluff, the street department supervisor reported more standing water than any time since 1982. Numerous vehicles were stranded on flooded roads. Butler County firefighters rescued four passengers from a pickup truck on County Road 459 after an overflowing creek rose across the road and trapped them in the vehicle. Another water rescue had to be performed on County Road 368 when a truck attempted to cross the rising waters of Little Black River.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Perry

When
January 21, 9:30 PM CST to January 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Perry County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.707, -89.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Bollinger

When
January 21, 9:30 PM CST to January 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Bollinger County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.322, -90.026 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Butler

When
January 21, 9:30 PM CST to January 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Butler County, Countywide
Property damage
$70,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.716, -90.407 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Wayne

When
January 21, 9:30 PM CST to January 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Wayne County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.113, -90.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Ripley

When
January 21, 9:30 PM CST to January 22, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Ripley County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.653, -90.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Missouri in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, January 1999

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: 5680582, 5680583, 5680584, 5680585, 5680586.