Name: Flash Flooding in Indiana, June 5 to 6, 2001
Start: 2001-06-05T12:50
End: 2001-06-06T09:00
Location: Indiana

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: 0
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 LOT wrote it up.

Heavy rainfall accompanied thunderstorms on June 5th and June 6th across southern Newton county and Benton county. Several roads were closed due to flooding. One foot of water was reported covering state route 41 and state route 52 just northwest of Earl Park. State Route 16 had several feet of water covering the road. Kentland reported a two day rainfall total of 4.10 inches.

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 Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 5, 3:15 AM EST, 9 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 5, 3:15 AM EST, 9 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
315 AM CDT TUE JUN 5 2001

MAIN CONCERNS STILL REVOLVE AROUND POTENTIAL EXCESSIVE RAINFALL
EVENT OVER SOUTHERN THIRD OF THE CWA. MCS CLUSTER GENERALLY SOUTH OF
CWA...BUT BORDER COUNTIES SO CLOSE TO BANKFULL THAT ONE OR TWO GOOD
STORMS COULD PRODUCE ENOUGH RAIN TO CAUSE PROBLEMS. WILL CONTINUE
FFA OVER THE SAME AREAS AS OVERNIGHT. WILL REMOVE/REDUCE POPS
FURTHER NORTH AS FOCUS UNLIKELY TO SHIFT BACK THAT FAR NORTH...BUT
WILL CONTINUE TO MENTION SCATTERED DRIZZLE ASSOCIATED WITH LOW
STRATUS/FOG ACROSS NORTHERN COUNTIES.

VERY SLOW CLEARING THROUGH THE REST OF THE SHORT TERM PERIOD AS
UPPER RIDGE EDGES ITS WAY TOWARD US. WEEKEND STILL LOOKS DECENT AS
TEMPS SLOWLY RETURN TO SEASONAL NORMS.

.CHI...FFA TDY S OF MENDOTA-WHEATFIELD LN

JHV

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 5, 11:57 AM EST, 53 minutes before

ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032>033-039-INZ001>002-010>011-019-
051100-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1200 PM CDT/EST TUE JUN 5 2001

FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA...

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS SOUTH OF A PONTIAC
TO RENSSELAER LINE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. LARGE HAIL AND
DAMAGING WINDS ARE THE PRIMARY THREAT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR
ACROSS THE REGION BUT ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE NORTH OF THIS
LINE.  HOWEVER...FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE SOUTH OF A MENDOTA TO
WHEATFIELD LINE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT AS MORE HEAVY RAIN IS
LIKELY.

TRS

Local storm report, Jun 5, 12:28 PM EST, 22 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1228 PM CDT TUE JUN 05 2001

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

1220 PM    READING                   IL   FLOOD
06/05/01   LIVINGSTON                     ROUTE 17 JUST WEST OF
                                          ROUTE 23 COMPLETELY
                                          FLOODED UNDERNEATH A
                                          BRIDGE AND IS CLOSED.
                                          REPORTED BY COUNTY
                                          SHERIFF.

CMS

ZCZC CHILSRCHI ALL
TTAA00 KCHI DDHHMM

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1231 PM CDT TUE JUN 05 2001

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

1220 PM    READING                   IL   FLOOD
06/05/01   LIVINGSTON                     ROUTE 17 JUST WEST OF
                                          ROUTE 23 COMPLETELY
                                          FLOODED UNDERNEATH A
                                          BRIDGE AND IS CLOSED.
  9                                        REPORTED BY COUNTY
                                          SHERIFF.

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 129 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:51 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Benton

When: June 5, 12:50 PM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Benton County, 1 mi NW of Earl Park
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.606, -87.311 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Newton

When: June 6, 7:30 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Newton County, Kentland
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.956, -87.397 (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

More

Every storm in Indiana in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, June 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: 5255570, 5255571.