Illinois, 2002

Flooding in Illinois, May 12 to 13, 2002

May 12 to 13, 2002 · NWS ILX · 19 events in 19 counties and zones

Although the rain had ended, runoff from the storms continued to aggravate the flooding situation across Central Illinois. The runoff continued to cause flooding problems on numerous county roads and basements.

Where it happened

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.

  • 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
1
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
19

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 ILX wrote it up.

Although the rain had ended, runoff from the storms continued to aggravate the flooding situation across Central Illinois. The runoff continued to cause flooding problems on numerous county roads and basements. Illinois Route 130 between Jasper and Richland counties remained flooded. In Jasper County, an elderly woman had to be evacuated from her home due to rising flood waters and another person had to be rescued after driving into a flooded area. No injuries were reported. Flooding continued in Effingham County with several motorists driving into flooded roadways and had to be rescued. No injuries were reported there. In Clark County, Illinois Route 1 was flooded south of Martinsville, as well as Old Route 40 between Martinsville and Casey. In Cumberland County, Illinois Route 121 west of Toledo was closed for a time due to flooding and Illinois Route 130 between Greenup and Charleston was closed as well. Several people in Villa Grove (Douglas County) had to be evacuated via boat due to rising waters in town. Several basements in Arcola (Douglas County) were flooded. In Shelby County, US Highway 51 near Moweaqua was closed due to the flooding. In Christian County, several roads were washed out. Two mudslides occurred at the Oak Hill Cemetary in Taylorville (Christian County), covering the road with mud. On Sunday evening in Decatur (Macon County), a mudslide occurred on Lake Shore Drive. No structures were affected by the mudslide. Train tracks on the east side of Decatur were washed out and had to be repaired. On Sunday near Riverton (Sangamon County), a levee was breeched on the Sangamon River flooding farmland. Several water treatment plants around the Sangamon County and a power plant in Springfield had to be sandbagged to prevent flooding of the facilities. The flooding caused the southbound lanes of Interstate 55 (southern Sangamon County) to be closed due to high water from Brush Creek near Divernon. In Morgan County, Illinois Route 78 at Illinois Route 104 remained closed due to the flooding. Also, 3 teenagers had to be rescued Sunday evening after driving into a flooded section of roadway near Jacksonville and were swept several feet downstream until the car came to rest next to a power pole. One man sustained minor leg injuries.

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 May 12, 12:25 AM CST, 8 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 12, 12:25 AM CST, 8 hours 35 minutes before
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.

FRIEDERS

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 12, 5:00 AM CST, 4 hours before
ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-121300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL ILLINOIS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
600 AM CDT SUN MAY 12 2002

...FLOODING POTENTIAL THROUGH TONIGHT...
...SEVERE WEATHER POTENTIAL TODAY SOUTH OF I-70...

A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH SLOWLY SOUTH ACROSS CENTRAL ILLINOIS
TODAY...THEN INTO SOUTHERN ILLINOIS TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL
FOCUS ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT AS IT SLOWLY MOVES SOUTH TO NEAR
I-70 BY EARLY THIS EVENING AND INTO THE OHIO VALLEY BY MONDAY
MORNING.  ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR HEAVY
RAINFALL AT TIMES. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES WILL BE
POSSIBLE ALONG WITH LOCALIZED FLOODING. THE HEAVY RAIN THREAT WILL
TAPER OFF IN AREAS NORTH OF I-72 BY THIS AFTERNOON.

SEVERE WEATHER IS ALSO POSSIBLE ALONG THE FRONT SOUTH OF I-70 BY
THIS AFTERNOON. NOT ONLY WILL FLASH FLOODING BE A THREAT...THE
RISK FOR LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE.

STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

FRIEDERS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

19 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Morgan

When
May 12, 9:00 AM CST to May 13, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Morgan forecast zone
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.716, -90.201 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Christian

When
May 12, 9:00 AM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Christian forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.546, -89.277 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Macon

When
May 12, 9:00 AM CST to May 13, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Macon forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.860, -88.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Sangamon

When
May 12, 9:00 AM CST to May 13, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Sangamon forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.758, -89.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Coles

When
May 12, 10:30 AM CST to May 13, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Coles forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.520, -88.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Douglas

When
May 12, 10:30 AM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Douglas forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.770, -88.217 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Moultrie

When
May 12, 10:30 AM CST to May 13, 5:00 AM CST
Where
Moultrie forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.642, -88.619 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Piatt

When
May 12, 10:30 AM CST to May 13, 5:00 AM CST
Where
Piatt forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.010, -88.591 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Shelby

When
May 12, 10:30 AM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Shelby forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.391, -88.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Clark

When
May 12, 1:00 PM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Clark forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.334, -87.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Cumberland

When
May 12, 1:00 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where
Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.273, -88.240 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Champaign

When
May 12, 4:00 PM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Champaign forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.140, -88.199 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Vermilion

When
May 12, 4:00 PM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Vermilion forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
40.183, -87.733 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Crawford

When
May 12, 5:00 PM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Crawford forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.003, -87.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Effingham

When
May 12, 5:00 PM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Effingham forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.060, -88.590 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Jasper

When
May 12, 5:00 PM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Jasper forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.010, -88.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Clay

When
May 12, 7:00 PM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.754, -88.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Lawrence

When
May 12, 7:00 PM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Lawrence forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.720, -87.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Richland

When
May 12, 7:00 PM CST to May 13, 11:00 AM CST
Where
Richland forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
38.712, -88.085 (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

More

Every storm in Illinois in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, May 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: 5301835, 5301837, 5301847, 5301851, 5301840, 5301843, 5301848, 5301849, 5301852, 5301838, 5301842, 5301836, 5301853, 5301841, 5301844, 5301845, 5301839, 5301846, 5301850.