Flooding in Illinois, December 17 to 18, 2001

Name: Flooding in Illinois, December 17 to 18, 2001
Start: 2001-12-17T02:00
End: 2001-12-18T09:00
Location: Illinois

December 17 to 18, 2001 · NWS PAH · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Numerous roads were flooded in most southern Illinois counties, including a few primary routes. In Hamilton County, Route 142 was closed south of Mcleansboro.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $8,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

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.

Numerous roads were flooded in most southern Illinois counties, including a few primary routes. In Hamilton County, Route 142 was closed south of Mcleansboro. In Alexander County, a residence near Tamms was evacuated. Rainfall amounts for December 16-17 were commonly 3 to 5 inches in the flooded areas. In Union County, 4.35 inches was measured at Anna. Flooding blocked railroad tracks in Union County. An Amtrak train was forced to make an unplanned stop at the Anna station, and all 75 passengers found alternate means of travel.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 16, 1:00 PM CST, 13 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 1:00 PM CST, 13 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
100 PM CST SUN DEC 16 2001

MAIN CHALLANGE CONTINUES TO BE DURATION AND AMOUNT OF RAIN.

KPAH 88D LOOP SHOWS RAIN OVER MOST OF FA LATE THIS MORNING WITH IR
SAT PICS SHOWING COLDEST TOPS MOVING INTO SW AR. LATEST SURFACE
ANALYSIS SHOWS COLD FRONT ARCED ACROSS THE PLAINS FROM CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TO THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. SURFACE WINDS INDICATE A LOW
SPINNING UP OVER NE TEXAS WITH AN ASSOCIATED TROUGH EXTENDING NE TO
NEAR BNA.

12Z SUN MODEL RUNS SHOW NGM AND AVN COMING MORE IN LINE WITH THE
SLOWER STORM DEPARTURE TIME OF THE ETA...ESPECIALLY THE NGM.
CURRENTLY THE NGM AND ETA QPF AGREE ON DEPARTURE AND THE MESO ETA
AND AVN PUSH SYSTEM THROUGH EARLY MONDAY. THE ETA FORECAST ONSET
VERY WELL WITH REGARD TO TIME...LOCATION...AND AMOUNT OF QPF THIS
MORNING. THEREFORE WILL LEAN TOWARD NGM/ETA SOLUTION WITHOUT TOTAL
DISREGARD TO THE MESO ETA/AVN. HOWEVER THE MODELS DO NOT SEEM TO
IDENTIFY THE TROUGH OR DEVELOPING WARM FRONT THAT EXTENDS INTO
CENTRAL TN AND EASTERN KY EARLY THIS MORNING BUT DOES SEEM TO CATCH
UP WITH IT BY 18Z. THIS COULD BE THE REASON FOR PRECIP DEVELOPING
FARTHER EAST INTO KENTUCKY THAN THE MODEL QPF ORIGINALLY DEPICTED.
THE HEAVIEST PRECIP OVER SEMO IS SLIGHTLY WEST OF THE MODEL QPF
BULLSEYE ATTM. RAIN SHOULD FILL IN THE GAPS AS WE HEAD INTO TONIGHT
AND SURFACE LOW DEEPENS AS IT APPROACHES FA JUST AHEAD OF THE UPPER
LEVEL LONG WAVE TROUGH. SLOWER DEPARTURE OF STORM SYSTEM APPEARS TO
BE IN RESPONSE TO STRONG HIGH CENTERED JUST EAST OF THE CARIB. THE
SURFACE LOW SLOWS AS IT REACHES THE EAST COAST AND ENCOUNTERS THE
HIGH. THE LOW WILL EVENTUALLY EJECT OUT INTO THE ATLANTIC AS THE
UPPER LEVEL LONGWAVE HELPS BREAK DOWN THE RIDGE. THIS SLOWER
SOLUTION WILL ALLOW FOR WRAPAROUND TO AFFECT THE FA...ESPECIALLY
EASTERN PORTIONS ...LONGER THAN PREVIOUSLY ANTICIPATED. WITH THIS IN
MIND MAY OPT TO EXTEND FFA THROUGH MONDAY OVER KY AND SWIN. AFTER
18Z MODELS TAKE BULD OF MOISTURE EAST OF THE WABASH AND OHIO RIVERS
THEN EAST OF THE FA BY 00Z. PARAMETERS FOR THUNDER APPEAR WEAK AT
BEST. HOWEVER WITH LOW PASSING OVHD WILL NOT PULL MENTION WERE IT IS
ALREADY SPECIFIED...BUT WILL TONE IT DOWN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

FROM TUESDAY ON SEE VERY LITTLE CHANGES ALTHOUGH MAY ADJUST TEMPS
DOWN A BIT AS NUMERICAL GUIDANCE RUNNING A LITTLE WARM EARLY ON WITH
THE EXTEDED MODELS COMING IN A LITTLE COOLER IN LATER PERIODS.

.PAH...FLOOD WATCH (FFA) FOR ALL OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND WESTERN KENTUCKY TONIGHT MONDAY
MORNING.

KH

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Alexander

When: December 17, 2:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Alexander forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.192, -89.338 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Gallatin

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Gallatin forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.763, -88.230 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Hamilton

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.082, -88.539 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Hardin

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Hardin forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.518, -88.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Jackson

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.785, -89.382 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Johnson

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.460, -88.881 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Massac

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Massac forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.219, -88.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Pope

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Pope forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.413, -88.562 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Pulaski

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Pulaski forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.223, -89.127 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Saline

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Saline forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.753, -88.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Union

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Union forecast zone
Property damage: $8,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.471, -89.255 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Wayne

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Wayne forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.430, -88.426 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Williamson

When: December 17, 4:00 AM CST to December 18, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Williamson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.730, -88.930 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, December 2001

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: 5273622, 5273623, 5273624, 5273625, 5273626, 5273627, 5273628, 5273629, 5273630, 5273631, 5273632, 5273633, 5273634.