1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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.
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 May 19, 2:20 AM CST, 11 hours 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 320 AM CDT SAT MAY 19 2001 VERY IMPRSV CNVCTVLY ENHANCED SYS CONTS TO SPIN ABT OVR THE BOOTHEEL RGN WITH SFC LOW/REFLECTION INVOF OF CGI AT 09Z. LOW CLDS WRAP BACK ARND LOW LVL CIRCLN CNTR FM JUST NORTH OF STL TO NR SGF AND IT APPEARS CLRG OF THE WRN EDGE IS BEING DLAD BY DVLPMNT OF ST/FG IN IT'S IMMEDIATE WAKE. PCPN FOR THE MOST PART HAS WOUND DOWN QUITE A BIT ALTHO SOME SPOTTY -SHRA CONTS TO ROT SSW ABT THE MID LVL CIRCLN CNTR. STLT AND MDL TRENDS INDCT THAT THE WHOLE SYS SHUD CONT TO DEPART TO THE EAST OF THE MS RVR THIS MRNG BUT WON'T BE IN A BIG HURRY TO DO SO. WL NEED TO MENTION CLDS THIS MRNG OVR THE SE HALF OF THE CWFA AND INTO ERLY AFT XTRM SE SXNS. MAY ALSO NEED TO MENTION SOME SPOTTY PCPN AS WELL. TMP TRENDS ARE GNRLY IN THE RGT DIRECTION FOR TDA ALTHO WL NEED TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON PROJECTED CLRG TRENDS. WK SFC RDG IN THE WAKE OF THE DEPARTING SFC LOW WL CONT TO INFLUENCE WX TNGT. WNDS WL BE FAIRLY LGT AS A RESULT BUT SHUD BCM MORE ELY IN RESPONSE TO FALLING SFC PRES ACRS THE PLAINS. WITH THE WNDS FAIRLY LGT TNGT...LOWS AND POTENTIAL FOR ANY FOG DVLPMNT WL REVOLVE ARND EWD SPRD OF HI CLDS FM PLAINS CNVCTN. AS IS TYPICALLY THE CASE...COOLER READINGS SHUD BE FM SE MO INTO SW IL WHERE LIGHTEST WNDS WL RESIDE AND CLDS WL ARRIVE LATEST. INITIAL IMPACTS OF BIG PATTERN CHG WL BEGIN ON SUN AS BOTH THE ETA AND AVN BRING THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF SHRTWVS INTO THE CWFA BY AFT. THIS COINCIDES WITH VEERING H85 FLOW AND A GOOD RETURN OF LOW AND MID LVL MSTR. IT THE ETA IS CORRECT CURRENT POPS LK ON THE MARK WITH LIKELY FM WC IL INTO MID MO...HOWEVER IF THINGS SLOW DOWN AT ALL THIS WL BE 3-6H FAST. ATTM WL CONT WITH CURRENT FCST AS IT APPEARS TO BE THE CONSENSUS OF THE SHRT RNG MDLS. BIGGEST MDL DIFS WHICH IMPACT OUR RGN EVOLVE SUN NGT INTO MON WITH THE AVN MUCH FASTER WITH THE CDFNT THAN THE ETA. TIMING IS REALLY MOST CRITICAL WITH TMPS AS IT APPEARS THERE WL BE A THREAT OF POST-FRONTAL PCPN ON MON WITH A SCNDRY SHRTWV TROF. ATTM AM LEANING TWDS THE SLOWER ETA WHICH IS SUPPORTED BY BOTH THE NOGAPS AND CANADIAN MDL...AND THEREFORE LOWS HV BEEN ADJUSTED A BIT MORE IN LN WITH THE ETA 2M TMP VALUES. THE MAJOR PATTERN CHG CONTS TO EVOLVE THRU THE FIRST HALF OF THE WK AS AN UNSEASONABLY STG LNGWV TROF CARVES OUT OVR THE NATION'S MIDSECTION...WITH BOTH THE CANADIAN AND MRF EVENTUALLY DVLPG AN IMPRSV CLOSED LOW OVR THE OH VLY BY 120H. I MAY MAKE A FEW DOWNWARD TWEEKS TO THE EXTDD TMPS BUT WON'T MESS WITH THE WX SPECIFICS. .STL...NONE GLASS
ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095-097>102-MOZ018-019-026-027- 034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-192300- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO 1205 PM CDT SAT MAY 19 2001 THREAT: THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED. WHEN: THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SITUATION: A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI WILL MOVE EASTWARD INTO THE TENNESSEE VALLEY REGION...ALLOWING A WEAK RIDGE OFn HIGH PRESSURE TO BUILD INTO THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE NEXT RISK FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LATE SUNDAY. PEDIGO
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Mississippi River rose over its banks for a few days in St. Clair County across from St. Louis. A few roads right along the river bank went underwater, otherwise there was no damage. Location Flood Stage CrestSt. Louis 30 ft 30.6 ft on 5/21/01
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, May 2001
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: 5244877.