Flooding in Illinois, May 1 to 31, 2001

Name: Flooding in Illinois, May 1 to 31, 2001
Start: 2001-05-01T00:00
End: 2001-05-31T00:00
Location: Illinois

May 1 to 31, 2001 · NWS LSX · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Continued rainfall in the upper Mississippi River Basin worsened the already swollen Mississippi River. Although the flood wave attenuated significantly by the time it reached the St.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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 LSX wrote it up.

Continued rainfall in the upper Mississippi River Basin worsened the already swollen Mississippi River. Although the flood wave attenuated significantly by the time it reached the St. Louis Hydrologic Service Area, upstream of Grafton, IL major flooding occurred. From Quincy, IL south to Calhoun County the river reached the 3rd highest crests of record. Damage however was relatively light. Most of the damage was to farmland on the inside of levees. A few businesses in Quincy were flooded, and some had limited access due to the high water. Some businesses in the Grafton and Alton areas were also impacted by the high water. The small town of Hamburg, in Calhoun County may have suffered the most. Inmates from the Illinois Department of Corrections along with student volunteers from area high schools were brought in to sandbag areas around town. Sandbags were needed to keep the Hamburg Church of Christ and Main Street from being flooded. Location Flood Stage CrestQuincy 17 ft 27.3 ft on 5/16/01Grafton 18 ft 25.2 ft on 5/19/01Alton 21 ft 25.9 ft on 5/21/01

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 Apr 30, 1:00 PM CST, 11 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 1:00 PM CST, 11 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
200 PM CDT MON APR 30 2001

MAY BE DIFFERENT THIS YR AND JUST SKIP OVR MAY AND GO RIGHT INTO
JUNE WX ALTHOU ON THE CALENDAR MAY WILL COME IN LIKE A LAMB.  ETA
AND NGM FCST TREEMENDUS H3 DVRGC BULLSEYE ACRS SW IA/NW MO BY MIDN
TUE AS 120 KT JET ROLLS ACRS SD.  850 JET OF 50-60 KTS FCST FM NRN
OK INTO N CNTRL MO AT MIDN ON ETA WHILE NGM AND AVN ARE IN THE 35-45
KT RANGE.  EITHER WAY MAY HV TO DEAL WITH MCS ARNO AS ETA FCSTS 40
KS ACRS NW MO/SW IA/SE NEB TUE EVE.  THICKNESS PTRN FOR LT TUE
NGT/ERY WED MRNG SUGGSTS IF MCS IS THERE IT SHOOD ROLL SWD BUT IT
WILL BE ENCOUNTERING DRIER AIR AS IT DOES. OTRW BLUES SKIES ARE IN
THE CARDS FOR TUE.

LAPS DATA AT 18Z SHOWS CAPE HAS INCRSED ACRS THE ERN OZARKS WITH
LIS IN THE -4 RANGE.  SCT SHWRS AND A FEW TSTMS HV DVLPD WITH SFC
TEMPS WAY ABV NRML.  MAIN LN OF SHWRS RMNS ACRS NW MO BCK INTO SE
KS.  S/WV FCST TO ROLL ACRS THE RGN ON ALL THE MODELS AND LOW POPS
INTRDCD FOR TNGT AS A RESULT.

IN THE EXTNDD PD, CLOSED H5 LOW FCST NR THE GRAND CANYON BY MRF,
ECMWF AND UK FOR THU MRNG.  SYSTM FCST TO LIFT SLOWLY NWD BY SAT
MRNG WITH RDG PERSISTING ACRS THE MS VLY.  S/WV SWINGING INTO
VANCOUVER ISLAND SAT EVE WILL NUDGE THE S/WV EWD AND IT IS FCST TO
MOVE INTO THE MIDWEST ON MON. MRF SLIDES LRG SFC HI ACRS THE MIDWEST
ON SAT.

.STL...NONE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 30, 10:32 PM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes before

LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1132 PM CDT MON APR 30 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

543 PM     WOOD RIVER                IL   0.88 INCH HAIL
04/30/01   MADISON                        DIME TO NICKEL SIZED HAIL
                                          WAS REPORTED BY A SEVERE
                                          WEATHER SPOTTER AND/ AN
                                          AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR.

LENNING

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Pike

When: May 1, 12:00 AM CST to May 31, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Pike forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.623, -90.886 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Calhoun

When: May 1, 12:00 AM CST to May 31, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Calhoun forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.169, -90.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Jersey

When: May 1, 12:00 AM CST to May 31, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Jersey forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.086, -90.357 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Adams

When: May 1, 12:00 AM CST to May 29, 12:12 AM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.988, -91.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Madison

When: May 1, 12:00 AM CST to May 27, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.830, -89.905 (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, May 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: 5244781, 5244782, 5244783, 5244784, 5244785.