Flood, Wabash
- When
- December 18, 5:00 PM CST to December 31, 8:00 PM CST
- Where
- Wabash forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.446, -87.844 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood in Illinois, December 18 to 31, 2001
33 feet at New Harmony, Indiana on December 26. Flood stage there is 15 feet.
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
- None recorded
- 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.
The Wabash River crested at 18.33 feet at New Harmony, Indiana on December 26. Flood stage there is 15 feet. This resulted in minor flooding of low-lying areas and bottomlands.
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 18, 1:10 PM CST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 18, 1:10 PM CST, 3 hours 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 110 PM CST TUE DEC 18 2001 ...MAIN FORECAST CONCERN NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS WILL BE FOG THREAT TONIGHT... MODELS IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE OVERALL WEATHER PATTERN THROUGH THE REST OF THE WORK WEEK. SURFACE RIDGE BUILDING INTO THE REGION TODAY HAS FINALLY BROUGHT A RETURN TO SUNSHINE THIS AFTERNOON. NEXT FRONT...NOW OVER THE PLAINS...WILL SLIDE EAST TONIGHT...AND SHOULD BE LOCATED OVER SOUTHERN IL/SOUTHEAST MO BY SUNRISE WED. ASSOCIATED H50 VORT MAX IS FAIRLY IMPRESSIVE WITH THIS SYSTEM...BUT LOW LEVEL RETURN FLOW IS VIRTUALLY NIL AND THUS OVERALL INTEGRATED MOISTURE IS MARGINAL. CURRENT FORECAST IS FOR CLOUDS ONLY. MAY INTRODUCE SPRINKLES IN SOME AREAS...ESPECIALLY NORTH...ON WED...BUT WILL LIKELY STAY AWAY FROM MEASURABLE PRECIP. MAIN QUESTION TONIGHT WILL BE HOW MUCH...IF ANY...FOG REFORMS. WINDS SHOULD DECOUPLE AROUND SUNSET...AND EXPECT AT LEAST PATCHY FOG TO FORM BEFORE MIDNIGHT IN FAVORED LOCATIONS. CLOUDS WILL MOVE INTO WESTERN AREAS LATE AND MAY PRECLUDE WIDESPREAD DENSE FOG. CLOUDS SEEM MORE IFFY SOUTH/EAST OF THE OHIO RIVER. THUS...FOG SEEMS LIKE A BETTER BET THERE. WILL BRIEF EVENING CREW. HIGH PRESSURE WILL MAINTAIN ITS PRESENCE THROUGH FRIDAY...WHICH SHOULD GIVE US A GOOD CHANCE TO DRY OUT A BIT AND FLOOD WATERS A CHANCE TO RECEDE. NEXT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL COME LATER SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY AS ANOTHER STRONG SYSTEM TREKS EAST THROUGH THE PLAINS...LEADING TO MAJOR PATTERN CHANGE BY MONDAY AND INTO CHRISTMAS DAY. MORE ON THIS AS IT APPROACHES. WILL SIDE WITH SLIGHTLY COOLER AVN MOST TEMPS ON WED DUE TO LOW THICKNESSES AND PLENTY OF CLOUD COVER. .PAH...NONE. MEFFERT
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flooding in Indiana, December 18 to 27, 2001
- Dense Fog in Kentucky, December 18, 2001
- Flooding in Illinois, December 18 to 24, 2001
- Dense Fog in California, December 18 to 19, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 18 to 19, 2001
- Dense Fog in California, December 18, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 18 to 19, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 18, 2001
- Flood in Indiana, December 18 to 31, 2001
- High Wind in North Carolina, December 18, 2001
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, December 18, 2001
- High Wind in New Jersey, December 18, 2001
More
Every storm in Illinois in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5273614.