Illinois, 2002

Tornado and Flash Flooding in Illinois, June 12 to 13, 2002

June 12 to 13, 2002 · NWS ILX · 13 events in 9 counties and zones

9 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 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
13

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 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 Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 12, 8:19 PM CST, 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 12, 8:19 PM CST, 34 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
919 PM CDT WED JUN 12 2002

WILL NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES TO GOING ZONE FORECAST PACKAGE FOR
OVERNIGHT. THUNDERSTORM AND SHOWER ACTIVITY OVER NORTHWEST PORTION
OF CWFA AT 9 PM WILL INCREASE AND DEVELOP SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE
ENTIRE AREA OVERNIGHT. MAIN FEATURE WILL BE AREAS OF HEAVY RAINFALL.
THE FLOOD WATCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING.

.ILX...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING FOR ENTIRE CWA.

PALMER

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Knox

When
June 12, 8:53 PM CST to June 13, 2:30 AM CST
Where
Knox County, Galesburg
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.932, -90.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Up to 4 inches of rain fell in an area from Galesburg to Dahinda to Williamsfield. Numerous roads were flooded including the intersection of Illinois Route 41 and Illinois Route 116, Illinois Route 180 north of Williamsfield, as well as, rural roads.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fulton

When
June 12, 11:00 PM CST to 11:50 PM CST
Where
Fulton County, Countywide
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.417, -90.183

Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines countywide. The hardest hit areas were around Smithfield, Cuba and Lewistown. One home sustained moderate roof damage due to a fallen tree. No injuries were reported.

Tornado, Fulton

When
June 12, 11:20 PM CST to 11:22 PM CST
Where
Fulton County, 1 mi NW of Smithfield
Rating
F0
Path length
1.8 mi
Path width
12 yd
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
40.483, -90.300

A tornado touched down 1.2 miles northwest of Smithfield at the west end of Stevens Road in a field. The tornado then briefly lifted before touching down once again in a field near Old Miller Lane. An unoccupied 15 foot travel trailer was picked up and destroyed. The tornado then lifted and dissipated. No injuries were reported.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mason

When
June 13, 12:20 AM CST
Where
Mason County, 6 mi SE of Forest City
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
40.300, -89.733

Two power poles were blown down across US Highway 136.

Flood, Knox

When
June 13, 2:30 AM CST to 8:30 AM CST
Where
Knox forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.932, -90.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Road flooding persisted for a while even though the rain had tapered off.

Flash Flood, Sangamon

When
June 13, 3:05 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Sangamon County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.758, -89.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Due to heavy rains, numerous roads were flooded including the intersection of Illinois Route 125 and Illinois Route 97. Also, I-72 was flooded at the interchange with Illinois Route 4. Some flooding was reported in Farmingdale and Salisbury. Some basements in Pawnee were flooded.

Flash Flood, Scott

When
June 13, 4:38 AM CST to 8:30 AM CST
Where
Scott County, South Portion
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.644, -90.475 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Due to heavy rains, numerous roads around the Alsey and Manchester areas were flooded, including the Illinois Route 267 viaduct in Manchester.

Flash Flood, Shelby

When
June 13, 4:54 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where
Shelby County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.391, -88.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Numerous roads were flooded countywide, especially along Illinois Route 16 and Illinois Route 128 near Shelbyville.

Flash Flood, Christian

When
June 13, 5:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Christian County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.546, -89.277 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rains caused flooding of numerous roads countywide, including Illinois Route 16 near Pana, Illinois Route 48 and Illinois Route 29. Numerous basements in the Pana area were flooded.

Flash Flood, Fulton

When
June 13, 5:04 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Fulton County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.473, -90.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rains caused numerous roads to become flooded, including portions of Illinois Route 95, Illinois Route 41 and US Route 24.

Flash Flood, Schuyler

When
June 13, 5:06 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where
Schuyler County, 4 mi N of Rushville
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.158, -90.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

US Route 67 north of Rushville was briefly flooded due to heavy rains.

Flash Flood, Mason

When
June 13, 7:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where
Mason County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.240, -89.917 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Numerous rural roads were flooded due to heavy rains.

Flash Flood, Coles

When
June 13, 7:30 AM CST to 9:30 AM CST
Where
Coles County, Countywide
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.520, -88.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several roads countywide were briefly flooded due to heavy rains.

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.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
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

More

Every storm in Illinois in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 2002Warnings in Illinois, June 2002

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: 5301338, 5301341, 5301340, 5301342, 5301339, 5301343, 5301344, 5301433, 5301432, 5301345, 5301346, 5301434, 5301435.