2 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Wilmington, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 18, 1:35 PM EST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
235 PM EDT FRI MAY 18 2001
LATEST SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS A COLD FRONT EXTENDING FROM EXTREME SE
MI...EXTREME NW OHIO...SOUTHWEST INTO CNTRL INDIANA...THEN INTO S
CNTRL IL. A WEAK SFC LOW WAS NOTED ACRS SW OHIO WITH ANOTHER WEAK
SFC LOW DEVELOPING ACRS S CNTRL IL.
MODELS ARE NOT IN TOO MUCH DISAGREEMENT REGARDING THE NXT 48 HOURS.
WILL LEAN TOWARD AN ETA/AVN BLEND.
MAIN CONCERN OVERNIGHT WILL BE THE POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING/FLASH
FLOODING. KILN RADAR CONTINUES TO SHOW SHOWERS/THUNDERSTORMS
PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN ACRS SRN OHIO. THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO A VERY
MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS. PW/S WILL CONTINUE TO BE HIGH...AROUND
1.7 INCHES ACRS SRN OHIO...SE INDIANA AND NRN KY THROUGH TONIGHT.
CURRENT ROUND OF SHOWERS/STORMS WILL PUSH INTO S CNTRL OHIO/NRN KY
THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTN. FOR THIS EVENING INTO
TONIGHT...THE SECOND SFC LOW PRESSURE OVER S CNTRL IL...IN
CONJUNCTION WITH AN UPR LVL S/WV ABOVE...WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF
SHOWERS/STORMS TO THE SRN CWFA. THUS...WILL CONTINUE A FF WATCH IN
THIS REGION. FOR THE NRN CWFA...FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL GRADUALLY SAG
SOUTH AND EAST THERE OVERNIGHT. INSTABILITY/LOW LVL
CONVERGENCE/PCPN EFFICIENCY WILL NOT BE AS GREAT AS THE SRN CWFA.
THUS...WILL CANCEL FF WATCH THERE (INCLUDING DAYTON...COLUMBUS AND
WAPAKONETA). AREAS OF FOG WILL BE MENTIONED DUE TO SO MUCH MSTR ON
THE GROUND.
FOR SATURDAY...CLEARING WILL GRADUALLY TAKE PLACE FROM NORTH TO
SOUTH. WILL CARRY POPS DURING THE MORNING FOR CVG EASTWARD INTO PMH.
SOUTH OF THE RIVER...WILL CARRY POPS INTO EARLY AFTN.
BY SATURDAY NIGHT...UPR LVL FLOW BECOMES MORE ANTICYCLONIC. SFC
HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING ALSO TAKES PLACE. WILL GO MOSTLY CLEAR NRN
AREAS WITH PARTLY CLOUDY/CLEARING SOUTH. FOG COULD AGAIN BE A
PROBLEM SATURDAY NIGHT OVER THE SOUTH...DEPENDENT ON WHEN THE
CLEARING/DRYING TAKES PLACE.
ON SUNDAY...INCREASING SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST RETURN FLOW IN RESPONSE TO
A DIGGING S/WV INTO THE NRN PLAINS STATES WILL ALLOW TEMPS TO WARM
BACK TO AROUND 80. SKIES SHOULD REMAIN PARTLY CLOUDY.
.ILN...FLASH FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 8 AM EDT SAT FOR
INZ066-073>075-080-
KYZ089>100-
OHZ070>074-077>082-088
HICKMANINZ050-058-059-066-073>075-080-KYZ089>100-OHZ042-045-046-051>056- 060>065-070>074-077>082-088-182200- SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 1100 AM EDT FRI MAY 18 2001 A COLD FRONT SITUATED FROM SOUTHERN ONTARIO...SOUTHWEST INTO NORTHWEST OHIO...THEN INTO CENTRAL INDIANA WILL MOVE SLOWLY SOUTHEAST INTO THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD AHEAD OF THIS FRONT. WITH A MARGINALLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS IN PLACE...THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER IS INDICATING THAT THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ...MAINLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF I-70. THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF DAYTON...COLUMBUS AND CINCINNATI. THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FROM THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE FLOODING. HOWEVER...ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THUNDERSTORMS. SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER THIS AFTERNOON. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES. HICKMAN
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON, OH
1200 PM EDT FRI MAY 18 2001
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....|
1130 AM PORTSMOUTH OH FLASH FLOODS
05/18/01 SCIOTO MOST CITY STREETS ARE
FLOODED.
SAMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON, OH
117 PM EDT FRI MAY 18 2001
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
s
0105 PM SABINA OH 0.75 INCH HAIL
05/18/01 CLINTONPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON, OH
218 PM EDT FRI MAY 18 2001
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0200 PM COUNTYWIDE OH FLOOD
05/18/01 CLINTON STREETS FLOODED COUNTYWIDE
0110 PM WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE OH FLOOD
05/18/01 FAYETTE CITY STREETS FLOODED
JWCPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON, OH
231 PM EDT FRI MAY 18 2001
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....a
0220 PM CHILLICOTHE OH FLOOD
05/18/01 ROSS ROADS FLOODED
JWCPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON, OH
346 PM EDT FRI MAY 18 2001
TIME(EDT) .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0115 PM SNOWHILL COUNTRY CLUB OHIO WIND DAMAGE
05/18/01 CLINTON SEVERAL TREES DOWN
0115 PM NEAR SNOWHILL COUNTRY CLUBOH WIND DAMAGE
05/18/01 CLINTON SEVERAL TREES DOWN
JW,CThe Cincinnati radar (KILN), 93 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:13 UTC.
2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Several roads were flooded due to heavy rainfall.
One road was closed due to high water from heavy rain.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, 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: 5249149, 5249150.