Flooding in Missouri, May 17 to 23, 2001

Name: Flooding in Missouri, May 17 to 23, 2001
Start: 2001-05-17T06:00
End: 2001-05-23T23:00
Location: Missouri

May 17 to 23, 2001 · NWS EAX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Minor flooding reported at several locations due to heavy rainfall. The Big Creek at Blairstown crested 3 feet over flood stage.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: 4

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 EAX wrote it up.

Minor flooding reported at several locations due to heavy rainfall. The Big Creek at Blairstown crested 3 feet over flood stage.

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 Kansas City, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 17, 2:55 AM CST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 17, 2:55 AM CST, 3 hours 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
355 AM CDT THU MAY 17 2001

LOCATION OF FNTS/OUTFLOW BNDRYS...PCPN...CLDS WILL HV AN IMPACT ON
TEMPS THRU FRI MRNG. MID/UPR LVL PATTERN HAS BCM MORE ACTV AS
MID/UPR LVL RDG HAS FLATTENED...WITH PREDOMINANT ZONAL FLOW NOW IN
PLACE. QSTNRY FNTL BNDRY LIES FM NRN IL ACRS EXTRM SRN IA INTO N
CNTRL KS. UPSTRM CDFNT FM WRN MN CURVES SW THRU NRN NEB. STG/ISOLD
SVR TSTMS OCRG WITH SRN MOST BNDRY NR MO/IA BDR WHERE CAPES RUNNING
ARND 3000J. SUF INSTBY PRESENT TO SUPPORT SOME LRG HAIL FOR THE REST
OF THIS MRNG. CNVTV COMPLEX SHUD TRK E THIS MRNG WITH MAIN PCPN
THREAT FAR NRN MO CNTYS THIS MRNG. WATCHING LRG CNVTV COMPLEX OVR
ERN CO/WRN KS. ETA/AVN MODELS HV BEST HANDLE WITH THIS FEATURE...AND
TRK THIS PCPN COMPLEX EWD THIS MRNG ACRS KS. DFCLT TO SEE VORT LOBE
MODELS ATTACH TO THIS FEATURE BUT FEEL IT IS MORE OF A CNVTVLY
INDUCED VORT MAX WHICH WILL BCM MORE APPARANT LTR THIS MRNG.

FNTL BNDRY EXPCD TO SAG SWD THIS MRNG AND BCM THE FOCUS FOR ACTV
CNVTN PSBLY BY ERY AFTN. H7 TEMPS PROGD TO COOL A CPL DEGREES TDY SO
AMS WILL BE LESS CAPPED. HI CAPE VALUES WILL CONT TO SUPPORT LRG
HAIL/DMGG WIND THREAT THRU ERY THIS EVE ACRS SE HLF CWA. GIVEN HIGH
POPS FM PROGS AND ABV SCENERIO FEEL LIKELY POPS WARRANTED FOR LRG
PART OF CWA. SINCE PCPN SHUD HOLD OFF FOR ALL BUT FAR NRN CNTYS TILL
THIS AFTN THINK MOST OF CWA WILL EXCEED GUID MAX TEMPS.

UPSTRM CDFNT PROGD TO ENTER NW MO THIS AFTN AND COULD BE ANOTHER
SOURCE FOR AFTN CNVTN. HIGH PWS SUS HVY RAIN WILL CONT TO BE A
THREAT. MAY SEE SOME POST FNTL CNVTN AS SLOW MOVG MID LVL SHRTWV
MOVS E INTO CWA LT THIS AFTN/EVE.

EXTV CLDNS EXPCD TO LAST THRU TNGT AND THIS LIKELY TO SUPPORT WRMR
MIN TEMPS THAN PROGD. COOLER AND DRIER AIR MOVS INTO CWA FRI AS SFC
HI BUILDS IN.

NEXT CHC OF RAIN IS SAT NGT/SUN AS STGR SHRTWV MOVS ACRS SRN PLAINS
WITH INVERTED SFC FNT PUSING E ACRS KS AND INTO MO.

LTST AVN/MRF SHOW A STGR CDFNT WITH MUCH COOLER AIR MOVG IN FOR
TUE/WED. HV LOWERED TEMPS SVRL CAT TO REFLECT THIS.

.EAX...
KS...NONE
MO...NONE

JULY

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 17, 2:38 AM CST, 3 hours 22 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
338 AM CDT THU MAY 17 2001

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

0320 AM    BURLINGTON JCT            MO   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/17/01   NODAWAY                        GOLFBALL-SIZE HAIL WAS
                                          REPORTED BY A  LAW
                                          ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.

Special weather statement, May 17, 4:57 AM CST, 1 hour 3 minutes before

KSZ025-057-060-102>105-MOZ001>008-011>017-020>025-028>033-037>040-
043>046-053-054-181100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY/PLEASANT HILL MO
600 AM CDT THU THU MAY 17 2001

...THERE IS A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING OVER PARTS OF NORTHEAST AND WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI AN EAST
CENTRAL KANSAS...

FORECAST: STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REFORM OVER MOST OF
THE AREA...POSSIBLY AS EARLY AS EARLY AFTERNOON. SOME OF THE STORMS
MAY BECOME SEVERE AND PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THE
THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE SOUTH AND EAST OF A LEAVENWORTH
KANSAS TO KIRKSVILLE LINE...WITH THE BEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE WEATHER
SOUTHEAST OF A PAOLA KANSAS TO MOBERLY LINE. IN ADDITION...HEAVY
RAIN IS POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

DISCUSSION:  A QUASI-STATIONARY FRONT NEAR THE IOWA AND MISSOURI
STATE LINE WILL DROP SOUTH TODAY...AND LIKELY BECOME THE FOCUS FOR
RENEWED THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. AT THE SAME TIME AN UPPER LEVEL
DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS KANSAS. THIS SYSTEM WILL HELP
PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR STRONG/SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS.

OUTLOOK: THE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON/TONIGHT WILL HELP TO PUSH THE
FRONT INTO THE AREA TODAY. THIS FRONT WILL ACT AS A FOCUS FOR MORE
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT...WITH A CHANCE OF SEVERE STORMS. THIS
FRONT SHOULD PUSH SOUTH OF MISSOURI BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON...WITH
COOLER AND DRIER AIR EXPECTED FOR THE WEEKEND. RAIN RETURNS TO THE
PICTURE STARTING LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AND THROUGH THE FIRST OF NEXT
WEEK...AS AN UPPER LEVEL WEATHER DISTURBANCE DEVELOPS IN THE CENTRAL
PART OF THE COUNTRY.

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/EAX.

JULY

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Carroll

When: May 17, 6:00 AM CST to May 19, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Carroll forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.427, -93.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Chariton

When: May 18, 6:00 AM CST to May 19, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Chariton forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.515, -92.963 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Saline

When: May 18, 6:00 AM CST to May 23, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Saline forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 39.137, -93.202 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Henry

When: May 19, 6:00 AM CST to May 23, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.385, -93.793 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 Missouri in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Missouri, May 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: 5245913, 5245914, 5245915, 5245916.