Flash Flooding in Missouri, February 24, 2001

Name: Flash Flooding in Missouri, February 24, 2001
Start: 2001-02-24T05:30
End: 2001-02-24T07:00
Location: Missouri

February 24, 2001 · NWS SGF · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Heavy rainfall from overnight thunderstorms caused numerous low water crossings to flood across portions of southwest Missouri. In addition, numerous secondary roads were closed.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: 7

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 SGF wrote it up.

Heavy rainfall from overnight thunderstorms caused numerous low water crossings to flood across portions of southwest Missouri. In addition, numerous secondary roads were closed. Most creeks, streams and small rivers were near bankfull.

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 Springfield, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 24, 2:20 AM CST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 2:20 AM CST, 3 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
220 AM CST SAT FEB 24 2001

SEVERE WEATHER AND FLOOD THREAT WILL HEADLINE FORECAST CONCERNS
TODAY.

BATCH OF CONVECTION CROSSING THE FORECAST AREA THIS MORNING HAS
RESULTED IN SOME FLOODING PROBLEMS. SATELLITE TRENDS INDICATE
WARMING TOPS AND RADAR SUGGEST RAINFALL RATES ARE SLOWING.  NEXT
ROUND OF CONVECTION ALREADY FIRING ACROSS NWRN TX/SWRN OK.  SURFACE
ANALYSIS SHOWS A DEEPENING SURFACE LOW OVER THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE
WITH A WARM FRONT STRETCHING EWD ACROSS RED RIVER VALLEY.  DEW
POINTS HAD RISEN INTO THE MID 60S ACROSS ERN TX.

MODELS IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH TRACK OF THE UPPER TROUGH AND
ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW TODAY.  THE AVN IS DEEPER WITH THE SURFACE
LOW WHICH SEEMS REASONABLE MATCHED TO CURRENT ANALYSIS.

FOR TODAY...CURRENT CONVECTION OVER THE AREA WILL DIMINISH THIS
MORNING AS BEST WARM AIR ADVECTION SHIFTS NEWD.  THE UPPER TROUGH
WILL BECOME NEGATIVE TILT AS IT SWINGS INTO THE SRN/CEN PLAINS THIS
AFTERNOON.  ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW WILL CONTINUE TO DEEPEN AS IT
TRACKS TOWARD NERN KS.  INGREDIENTS COMING TOGETHER FOR POTENTIALLY
SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER EVENT.  STRONG UPPER LEVEL DIFFLUENCE IN
LEFT EXIT REGION OF A CYCLONICALLY CURVED 120 KT JET WILL BE IN
PLACE TO PROVIDE STRONG DYNAMIC LIFT. THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE
DESTABILIZE UNDER STEEPENING LAPSE RATES AND MID-LEVEL DRY PUNCH.
ONLY QUESTION WILL BE EXTENT OF SURFACE BASED DESTABILIZATION.
MODELS ARE SUGGESTING LOWER LIFTED INDICES THAN PREVIOUS RUNS. I AM
CONCERNED ABOUT THE NWD PROGRESSION OF THE WARM FRONT BUT IT SHOULD
ACCELERATE NWD LATER THIS MORNING. EVEN IF INSTABILITY IS MARGINAL
THERE IS PLENTY OF DYNAMIC SUPPORT TO COMPENSATE.  WILL CONTINUE
FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL OF THE AREA.

STRONG TO SEVERE CONVECTION WILL BE SWEEPING OUT OF THE OZARKS THIS
EVENING WITH BREEZY CONDITIONS OVERNIGHT.  MAY SEE PERIOD OF VERY
WINDY CONDITIONS AS DRIER AIR MIXES IN BEHIND THE FRONT AND MAY NEED
A WIND ADVISORY THIS EVENING.  SURFACE HIGH BUILDS INTO THE OZARKS
FOR A MUCH CALMER DAY ON SUNDAY.

IN THE EXTENDED...SPLIT FLOW PATTERN CONTINUES TO MAKE FOR RATHER
COMPLICATED FORECAST.  NEXT SRN STREAM SYSTEM WILL MAKES ITS WAY
ACROSS THE SWRN U.S. AND INTO THE SRN PLAINS BY MIDWEEK WHILE COLDER
AIR SEEPS SOUTHWARD IN THE WAKE OF A NRN STREAM TROUGH.  WILL
CONTINUE TREND OF RAIN TO SNOW IN GOING FORECAST.

PRELIMINARY FORECAST NUMBERS FOR COORDINATION PURPOSES ONLY...
FCSTID = 11
SGF   62  35  52  29 / 100  50   0  10
JLN   64  36  53  31 / 100  30   0  10
UNO   58  38  52  29 / 100  70   0  10
VIH   60  35  52  28 / 100  70   0  10

.SGF...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL OF THE MISSOURI OZARKS AND
SOUTHEAST KANSAS TODAY.

FOSTER

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 6 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Greene

When: February 24, 5:30 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Greene County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.258, -93.342 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Barry

When: February 24, 5:34 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Barry County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.710, -93.829 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Christian

When: February 24, 5:35 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Christian County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.970, -93.189 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, McDonald

When: February 24, 5:47 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: McDonald County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.629, -94.348 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Newton

When: February 24, 5:50 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Newton County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.906, -94.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Stone

When: February 24, 5:52 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Stone County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.747, -93.456 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Lawrence

When: February 24, 6:45 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Lawrence County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.106, -93.833 (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 Missouri in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Missouri, February 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: 5234735, 5234736, 5234737, 5234738, 5234739, 5234740, 5234734.