Flash Flooding in Indiana, June 6, 2001

Name: Flash Flooding in Indiana, June 6, 2001
Start: 2001-06-06T04:40
End: 2001-06-06T08:00
Location: Indiana

June 6, 2001 · NWS IND · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Several thunderstorm cells trained across west central Indiana producing 2 to 3 inch rainfall totals in less than 3 hours. Numerous streets water covered and many small streams out of their banks.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 3

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.

Several thunderstorm cells trained across west central Indiana producing 2 to 3 inch rainfall totals in less than 3 hours. Numerous streets water covered and many small streams out of their banks.

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 Jun 6, 3:30 AM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 6, 3:30 AM EST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
330 AM EST WED JUN 6 2001

FLAT WLY UPPR FLOW XPCTD ACRS THE RGN DURG THE PD WITH A TENDENCY
TOWARDS VEERING TO THE NW LT IN PD AS RDGG BLDS INTO THE WRN PLAINS.
AT THE SFC...FRONTAL SYS CURRENTLY OVR THE CENTRAL CWA MAY PUSH A BIT
FARTHER N TODAY AS SFC WV RIPPLES ALONG FNT BEFORE SAGGING S OF THE
OH RVR ON THURS. FCST FOCUS CENTERS ON HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL EARLY IN
PD AND TEMPS.

CURRENT RADAR SHOWS CONVECTION DVLPG ALONG A LN NR TERRE HAUTE SEWD
TO NR COLUMBUS. PCPN EXTENDED BACK INTO CENTRAL IL. AS SFC WV
APPROACHES LTR TODAY...LO LVL JET WL INTENSIFY SOMEWHAT INCREASING
CONVERGENCE ALONG BOUNDARY. AMS S OF BOUNDARY XPCTD TO BE QUITE
UNSTABLE BY EARLY AFT WITH LI/S TO ABOUT -8. ORIENTATION OF LO LVL
JET LTR TODAY SUGGESTS ALTHOUGH ACTVTY WL MOV IN A GENERAL ENE
DIRECTION...THERE WL BE A TENDENCY FOR HEAVIER PCPN TO BLD SWD WITH
TIME INTO THE MORE UNSTABLE AIR. BASED ON ABV AND FFG VALUES...WL BE
ISSUING A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR AREAS SW OF A VERMILLION TO DECATUR
COUNTY LN FOR TODAY.

WL KEEP A CHC POP IN ALL ZONES FOR EARLY TONIGHT FOR ANY LINGERING
ACTVTY...ALTHOUGH PCPN SHOULD BE SUPPRESSED SEWD WITH TIME AS FNT
PULLS AWAY. LOOKS LIKE FNT WL BE FAR ENOUGH SE OF AREA BY THURS TO GO
WITH A DRY FCST AT THAT TIME.

CONSIDERING LO LVL THICKNESS PTNS FM THE MODELS...NGM HIGHS FOR TODAY
LOOK A FEW DEGREES TOO WARM IN THE FAR NRN ZONES...OTHERWISE GUIDANCE
APPEARS OK.

.IND...FLASH FLOOD WATCH TODAY...INZ043>045-051>056-060>065-067>072
JAS

The radar

The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 49 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:41 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Putnam

When: June 6, 4:40 AM EST to 7:30 AM EST
Where: Putnam County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.666, -86.845 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Parke

When: June 6, 7:00 AM EST to 7:30 AM EST
Where: Parke County, East Portion
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.774, -87.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Hendricks

When: June 6, 7:30 AM EST to 8:00 AM EST
Where: Hendricks County, West Portion
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.770, -86.510 (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

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: 5248268, 5248269, 5248270.