Flooding in Indiana, December 18 to 27, 2001

Name: Flooding in Indiana, December 18 to 27, 2001
Start: 2001-12-18T10:00
End: 2001-12-27T14:00
Location: Indiana

December 18 to 27, 2001 · NWS PAH · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The White River rose above flood stage, inundating low-lying areas and bottomlands. A section of State Route 257 in Pike County was closed near the river.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 White River rose above flood stage, inundating low-lying areas and bottomlands. A section of State Route 257 in Pike County was closed near the river. Motorists still drove through the closed area by going around barricades. At least four vehicles were swept off the roadway in fast currents. One motorist died. The victim likely died on Christmas night, his vehicle was found the next day, and his body was recovered two days after the mishap.

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, 1:46 AM CST, 8 hours 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 18, 1:46 AM CST, 8 hours 14 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
146 AM CST TUE DEC 18 2001

CURRENT PACKAGE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE. WILL MAKE A FEW TWEAKS HERE
AND THERE...OTHERWISE NO CHANGES PLANNED.

LATEST SATELLITE PIX SHOWED THE LAST OF THE WRAP-AROUND CLOUDS ABOUT
TO EXIT THE EXTREME NE CORNER OF THE CWA. NEAR ZONAL FLOW ALOFT AND
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE TO OUR SOUTH WILL KEEP THE AREA DRY AND MOSTLY
CLOUD FREE TODAY AND INTO THE NIGHTTIME HOURS. BY LATE TONIGHT A
SHORT WAVE WILL PUSH A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE CWA BUT MOISTURE IS
VERY LIMITED. AVN MODEL TRIES TO CRANK OUT A FEW SPRINKLES WITH THIS
SYSTEM BUT SINCE THE ETA/NGM KEEP IT DRY...WILL KEEP FORECAST DRY.
MOST OF THE CLOUDINESS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL BE POST
FRONTAL. AFTER THAT SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE AND SLOWLY RISING HEIGHTS
ALOFT SHOULD KEEP US DRY THROUGH THE ENTIRE WEEK. ON SATURDAY THE
FIRST SHOT OF ENERGY AND MOISTURE WILL EJECT FROM A STRONG SYSTEM
FORECAST TO SPIN UP OVER THE CENTRAL ROCKIES. ON SUNDAY THIS HUGE
SYSTEM LIFTS NE ACROSS THE PLAINS AND EVENTUALLY PUSHES ITS WAY
ACROSS THE AREA. AS A RESULT...RAIN IS A POSSIBILITY WITH THE
FRONTAL PASSAGE ON SUNDAY AND THEN AGAIN ON MONDAY WITH THE
WRAP-AROUND MOISTURE. THIS SYSTEM WILL PULL MUCH COLDER AIR IN
BEHIND IT...SO WRAP-AROUND PRECIP ON MONDAY COULD END AS SNOW OR A
MIXTURE OF RAIN AND SNOW...BUT WILL WAIT AND LOOK AT NEW EXTENDED
GUIDANCE BEFORE MAKING A DECISION.

SO FAR TONIGHT DENSE FOG HAS NOT DEVELOPED...BUT WOULD NOT BE
SURPRISED IF WE GET HOSED EVERYWHERE WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF
HOURS. THE WINDS HAVE STAYED UP JUST ENOUGH TO KEEP THE LOWER LEVELS
MIXED. AS THE SURFACE LOW CONTINUES TO PULL AWAY AND WINDS
SUBSIDE...WE COULD VERY WELL DECOUPLE AND GO DOWN FOR THE COUNT.
WILL WAIT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS AND WORD THE 1ST PERIOD ZONES
ACCORDINGLY.

.PAH...NONE.

PACKETT

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Gibson

When: December 18, 10:00 AM CST to December 27, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Gibson forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.312, -87.585 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Pike

When: December 18, 10:00 AM CST to December 27, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Pike forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.399, -87.232 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Flood, Pike	2001-12-25	29	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

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: 5273760, 5273761.