Flash Flood, Madison
- When
- July 19, 12:00 PM CST to 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- Madison County, Alton
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.830, -89.905 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flooding in Illinois, July 19, 2001
Rainfall of 3 to 4 inches caused flooding across parts of Madison, St. Clair and Randolph counties, particularly in the Alton, Belleville and Red Bud areas.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
- 3
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 LSX wrote it up.
Rainfall of 3 to 4 inches caused flooding across parts of Madison, St. Clair and Randolph counties, particularly in the Alton, Belleville and Red Bud areas. Numerous roads had to be temporarily closed due to high water.
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 St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 19, 1:30 AM CST, 10 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 19, 1:30 AM CST, 10 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 230 AM CDT THU JUL 19 2001 MCS ACRS NW MO BEGINNING TO ROLL SEWD IN LN WITH THICKNESS. RUC FCSTS SGNFNT 850 THETA-E ADVCTN AND MSTR CNVGC FM CNTRL IA INTO NE MO ATTM. FEW CELLS WERE DVLPG ACRS CNTRL IA DURG PAST HR OR SO IN RESPONSE. COOD SEE A REPEAT OF WED'S WX WITH DVLPMNT DURG THE DAY ALG OUTFLOW BNDRY FM CURRENT CONVECTION. MESOETA'S QPF LOOKS RNSBL THRU THE PD WITH ANTHR MCS EXPCTD TNGT. SYSTM SHOOD THEN ROLL SEWD AND AFFCT MUCH OF CWA ON FRI. MODELS PICK UP ON MCV BY NOON WITH SGNFNT PVA FCST ACRS MUCH OF AREA DURG THE AFTN. LKLY POPS ACRS MST OF AREA FOR A START FOR TODAY WITH HIEST POPS ACRS NE MO FOR THIS MRNG. ETA'S TIME CROSS SECTS IN REGARD TO VV LOOK LIKE WNTR. .STL...NONE
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jul 19, 6:13 AM CST, 5 hours 47 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
713 AM CDT THU JUL 19 2001
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0630 AM FOSTERBURG IL WIND DAMAGE
07/19/01 MADISON TREES DOWNED. REPORTED BY
MEDIA.Special weather statement, Jul 19, 7:32 AM CST, 4 hours 28 minutes before
ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027- 034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-191700- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 645 AM CDT THU JUL 19 2001 THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT: THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA. FOR THE PERIOD: TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE WEATHER OUTLOOK: SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BROKEN OUT ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER EARLY THIS MORNING AND WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST. A COUPLE OF THESE HAVE ALREADY SHOWN SEVERE TENDENCIES. THESE AND OTHER STORMS WHICH FORM ALONG THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES LATER TODAY ALONG WITH THE VERY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE OVER MISSOURI HAVE PROMPTED THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TO EXPAND THE SEVERE THREAT TO INCLUDE THE ENTIRE ST LOUIS FORECAST AREA. ILLINOIS HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE THE THREAT AREA. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE REGION. A FEW STORMS WILL LIKELY BECOME SEVERE IN THE VERY WARM AND UNSTABLE CONDTIONS. THE THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS WITH SOME LARGE HAIL. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO POSSIBLE AS SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS. PwEDIGO
Special weather statement, Jul 19, 9:15 AM CST, 2 hours 45 minutes before
ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027- 034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-191700- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION TO WORDING AND TIMES NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 1015 AM CDT THU JUL 19 2001 THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT: THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA. FOR THE PERIOD: TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE WEATHER OUTLOOK: SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BROKEN OUT ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER EARLY THIS MORNING AND WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST. A COUPLE OF THESE HAVE ALREADY SHOWN SEVERE TENDENCIES. THESE AND OTHER STORMS WHICH FORM ALONG THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES LATER TODAY ALONG WITH THE VERY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE OVER MISSOURI HAVE PROMPTED THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TO EXPAND THE SEVERE THREAT TO INCLUDE THE ENTIRE ST LOUIS FORECAST AREA. ILLINOIS HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE THE THREAT AREA. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE REGION. A FEW STORMS WILL LIKELY BECOME SEVERE IN THE VERY WARM AND UNSTABLE CONDITIONS. THE THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS WITH SOME LARGE HAIL. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO POSSIBLE AS SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS. PEDIGO
The radar
The St Louis radar (KLSX), 69 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:00 UTC.
Event by event
3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flash Flood, St. Clair
- When
- July 19, 12:00 PM CST to 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- St. Clair County, Belleville
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.470, -89.928 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood, Randolph
- When
- July 19, 12:00 PM CST to 2:00 PM CST
- Where
- Randolph County, Red Bud
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.052, -89.825 (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
- Rip Current in Delaware, July 19 to 22, 2001
- Heat in Texas, July 19, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Kansas, July 19, 2001
- Flood and Damaging Winds in Ohio, July 19, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Oregon, July 19, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Missouri, July 19, 2001
- Damaging Wind in North Dakota, July 19, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Nebraska, July 19, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Florida, July 19, 2001
- Tornado in North Dakota, July 19, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 19 to 20, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Montana, July 19, 2001
More
Every storm in Illinois in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, July 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: 5258458, 5258459, 5258460.