19 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 19 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 Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 12, 12:25 AM CST, 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
125 AM CDT SUN MAY 12 2002
OBVIOUS FCST CONCERNS CONTINUE TO BE FLOOD POTENTIAL.
06Z SFC ANALYSIS SHOWING WEAK AREA OF LOW PRESSURE INTO NE MO WITH
WF AHEAD OF SYSTEM LIFTING NORTH ACROSS CENT IL FROM NR BRL-PIA-CMI.
TRAILING CF EXTENDS BACK INTO NRN OK. MOSAIC RADAR LOOP SHOWING A
SOLID LINE OF TSRA EXTENDING FROM ORD-MCI...NW OF IL RVR IN CENT IL.
THIS ACTIVITY ONLY SLOWLY SAGGING SOUTH WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY
RAINFALL. FLWS CURRENTLY OUT FOR SEVERAL NW COUNTIES TIL 9 AM WITH
ONGOING FLOODING....WITH MORE WARNINGS LIKELY TO FOLLOW.
MODELS NOT SHOWING ANY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES TO AFFECT THE
FORECAST. MO SFC WAVE WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS AREA THIS MORNING
HELPING TO ENHANCE CONVERGENCE AND PCPN ACROSS AREA. BEHIND
THIS...CF WILL GET A SLOW PUSH SE WITH TIME INTO SRN IND/IL BY
00Z/MON. IN RESPONSE...BAND OF HEAVY PCPN WILL SLOWLY SHIFT
SOUTH...REACHING I-70 AREAS BY THIS AFT. BY THIS EVENING...MOST OF
THE HEAVY RAINS SHOULD BE SOUTH OF I-70. NO QUESTION ABOUT HEAVY
RAINFALL POTENTIAL WITH EFFICIENT RAINS. W/V IMAGERY SHOWING GOOD
MOISTURE PLUME FROM TROPICS FEEDING INTO SYSTEM. HIGH PWS AND LOW
FFG SHOULD RESULT IN ADDITIONAL FLOOD/FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS. GOOD
INSTABILITY SOUTH OF I-70 COULD RESULT IN SEVERE STORMS AS WELL.
CURRENT FLOOD WATCH TIMING LOOKS GOOD AND EXPECT TO MAKE NO CHANGES.
ANOTHER S/W MOVES SE AROUND UPPER LOW ANCHORED ACROSS THE MIDWEST
LATE ON MON. MOISTURE SHOULD BE LACKING WITH THIS SYSTEM AND WILL
KEEP DRY...BUT ADD A FEW MORE CLDS INTO MON NGT. RIDGING BUILDS IN
FOR TUES/WED TO DRY THINGS OUT A BIT BEFORE NEXT SYSTEM AND
ASSOCIATED PCPN CHCS INCREASE BY THE END OF THE WEEK.
...PRELIMINARY CCF FOR COORDINATION PURPOSES...
SPI TB 068/046 063/043 064 36+53
PIA WB 065/045 062/042 064 36+40
DEC TB 069/046 062/043 063 36+53
CMI TB 069/045 062/042 062 36+63
MTO TB 073/047 062/043 062 36+63
LWV TE 078/052 062/045 064 36++4
.ILX...FLOOD WATCH TODAY NORTH OF I-70.
FLOOD WATCH TODAY AND TONIGHT SOUTH OF I-70.
FRIEDERSThe Lincoln radar (KILX), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:58 UTC.
19 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous roads were underwater including US Route 67 north of Rushville.
Due to over 3 inches of rain in a short amount of time, the northwestern sections of town were flooded. Sixty homes sustained some kind of flood damage, with about a dozen of these homes sustaining major damage with 6 to 7 feet of water in their basements.
Numerous roads were flooded due to the heavy rains, including Old Route 36 near Lynnville and Illinois Route 111 near Waverly. Also, several cars had to be towed after being driven into flooded areas. No injuries were reported.
Numerous roads were flooded countywide due to between 3 and 4 inches of rain on already saturated ground. In Divernon, Brush Creek went out of its banks around 7 AM, causing 40 to 50 people to be evacuated from their homes. Numerous basements were flooded countywide and one basement in Leland Grove had a wall collapse due to the saturated soils.
Numerous roads and basements were flooded due to over 2 inches of rainfall in a short amount of time.
Numerous roads in town were flooded and several residents in an apartment complex had to be evacuated due to the flooding. Several basements were flooded as well.
Numerous roads were flooded due to 3 to 4 inches of rain in a short amount of time. Illinois Route 128 north of Shelbyville, as well as, Illinois Route 32 north of Windsor were flooded. One 85 year old woman drove through a flooded section of road and was swept into a nearby farm field. She was rescued with no injuries. Several homes sustained basement flooding, with 4 homes sustaining serious damage from basement walls that collapsed.
Numerous roads were flooded due to over 4 inches of rain in a short amount of time, including Illinois Routes 32 and 121 south of Sullivan. Several residents from a nursing home in Lovington had to be evacuated due to rising waters. Also, numerous basements were flooded.
Between 4 and 5 inches of rain fell on already saturated soils causing widespread flooding. Illinois Route 133 was flooded, as well as, Illinois Route 130 west of Villa Grove. Villa Grove sustained significant flooding for the third time in a month. Arcola High School received flood damage when two feet of water rushed into the school's boiler room, boys' locker room, and the school kitchen.
Numerous roads were flooded including Illinois Route 48 north of Taylorville and Illinois Route 29 between Springfield and Taylorville. Several basements in Taylorville were flooded.
Several rural roads near Glasgow were flooded including the Glasgow Blacktop.
Over 4 inches of rain fell on already saturated ground causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded. Four people sustained minor injuries after the car they were in hydroplaned on wet pavement near Toledo. Also, one motorist drove into a flooded section of road a few miles north of Toledo. He tried to back out of the water, but his car was picked up and floated downstream into a farm field. He was rescued and sustained no injuries.
Numerous roads were under water due to between 2 and 4 inches of rain, including Illinois Route 105 between Bement and Monticello. Numerous basements in the Cerro Gordo and Bement areas were flooded.
Over 4 inches of rain fell causing flash flooding. Illinois Route 49 north of Casey was flooded.
Between 2 and 4 inches of rain fell on already saturated ground causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were closed due to flooding and the Broadlands School had to have sandbags put around it to prevent flooding of the building. One car drove into a flooded section of road east of Sidney. The elderly couple had to be rescued by a nearby farmer. No injuries were reported.
Between 2 and 4 inches of rain fell over southern portions of Vermilion County causing flash flooding. Twenty-two homes in Westville and Tilton suffered basement and crawl space flooding. Several water treatment plants in the area had to be sandbagged to prevent flooding of the facilities.
Two to four inches of rain fell on already saturated ground causing flash flooding. Illinois Route 33 near Beecher City was flooded, as well as US Route 45 near Effingham. One vehicle hydroplaned on wet pavement on northbound I-57 north of Effingham injuring the driver and a passenger.
Three to five inches of rain fell on already saturated ground causing flash flooding. Illinois Route 130 was flooded north of Newton, as well as several basements in Newton. Two residences had to be evacuated due to rising flood waters.
Three and a half to five inches of rain fell on already saturated ground causing flash flooding. Numerous roads were flooded including Illinois Route 1 and Illinois Route 33.
Several large trees were blown down around town. Two caused minor damage to two houses. Another tree fell onto an unoccupied minivan, destroying it.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, May 2002
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: 5303072, 5303075, 5303073, 5303076, 5303077, 5301834, 5303079, 5303080, 5303166, 5303078, 5303074, 5303168, 5303165, 5303169, 5303167, 5303170, 5303171, 5303172, 5301833, 5303173.