Flooding in Indiana, December 15 to 23, 2001

Name: Flooding in Indiana, December 15 to 23, 2001
Start: 2001-12-15T12:00
End: 2001-12-23T23:00
Location: Indiana

December 15 to 23, 2001 · NWS IND · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Heavy rain from the 14th through the 17th resulted in the highest river levels along the lower portion of the White since January 1999.

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 IND wrote it up.

Heavy rain from the 14th through the 17th resulted in the highest river levels along the lower portion of the White since January 1999. Flooding affected extensive agricultural areas and closed numerous local and state roads.Crests:Centerton: 13.5 feet on December 18 (FS = 12 feet)Spencer: 19.1 feet on December 19 (FS = 14 feet)Elliston: 24.4 feet on December 18 (FS = 18 feet)Newberry: 18.7 feet on December 21 (FS = 13 feet)Edwardsport: 20.9 feet on December 19 (FS = 15 feet)Petersburg: 23.8 feet on December 24 (FS = 16 feet)Hazleton: 24.5 feet on December 25 (FS = 16 feet)

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 Indianapolis, IN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 15, 3:10 AM EST, 8 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 15, 3:10 AM EST, 8 hours 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
310 AM EST SAT DEC 15 2001

AMOUNT OF SUNSHINE THIS AFTERNOON IF ANY IS THE BIGGEST CONCERN
TODAY. THEN TIMING OF RAIN AND HOW MUCH RAIN IS THE NEXT MAIN PROBLEM
IN FOLLOWING PERIODS.

SATELLITE SHOWS QUITE A BIT OF LOW CLOUDS ACROSS THE AREA. ALTHOUGH
THERE WERE QUITE A FEW HOLES ESPECIALLY AROUND NW INDIANA AND LAKE
MICHIGAN.  MODELS SHOW GOOD SUBSIDENCE TODAY AS HIGH PRES RDG OVER
INDIANA CONTINUES EASTWARD.  OLD FWC AND MAV GUIDANCE INDICATES
CLOUDS TO BREAK UP DURING DAY. HOWEVER WET GROUND AND LOW LEVEL
INVERSION MAY KEEP CLOUDS FROM CLEARING. SINCE THERE ARE SOME HOLES
WILL DECREASE CLOUD COVER TO ABOUT 70-80 PERCENT BY LATE AFTERNOON.
BY THAT TIME MODELS ARE STARTING TO MOVE IN HIGH LEVEL MOISTURE.

MODELS THIS RUN ARE A LITTLE SLOWER WITH NEXT SHORT WAVE TROUGH.
AVN DEVELOPS SFC LOW OVER ARKANSAS BY 48 HOURS AND TRACKS IT ACROSS
THE OHIO VALLEY BY MONDAY. ALL MODELS PRODUCE PRETTY GOOD QPF
AMOUNTS OVER SOUTHERN INDIANA SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

WILL GO WITH A BLEND OF FWC/MAV TEMPS TODAY AND SUNDAY. OTHERWISE NO
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES MADE TO THEIR NUMBERS.

.IND...NONE.
HENDRICKSON

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, Greene

When: December 15, 12:00 PM EST to December 23, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Greene forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.036, -86.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Daviess

When: December 15, 4:00 PM EST to December 23, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Daviess forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.702, -87.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Knox

When: December 15, 5:00 PM EST to December 23, 11:00 PM EST
Where: Knox forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.689, -87.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Owen

When: December 17, 9:15 AM EST to December 22, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Owen forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.313, -86.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Morgan

When: December 17, 2:30 PM EST to December 19, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Morgan forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.482, -86.446 (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 Indiana in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, 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: 5274988, 5274989, 5274990, 5274987, 5274986.