Flood, Alexander
- When
- May 8, 5:00 PM CST to May 31, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Alexander forecast zone
- Property damage
- $1.5 million
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 37.192, -89.338 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flooding in Illinois, May 8 to 31, 2002
Major flooding of the Mississippi River occurred. 3 feet on May 18.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $1.5 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 PAH wrote it up.
Major flooding of the Mississippi River occurred. The river rose above flood stage at Thebes on May 8, then reached its crest of 44.3 feet on May 18. Flood stage at Thebes is 33 feet. This resulted in extensive flooding of farmland and threats to some developments. Backwater from the Mississippi threatened dozens of homes in the Horseshoe Lake area, including the Miller City and Olive Branch communities. These communities are between Cairo and East Cape Girardeau. As was the case in the floods of 1993 and 1995, emergency measures were taken to reinforce and build up levees around Olive Branch and Miller City. The levees held up, but structures not protected by levees were flooded. About 30 families evacuated due to flooding of their residences, mainly in the Miller City and McClure areas. At Thebes, the town's riverfront park was flooded, and a house and a church were flooded. Elsewhere, from Jackson County to Cairo, secondary roads near the river were closed, and parks and farmland were underwater.
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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 8, 11:58 AM CST, 5 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 8, 11:58 AM CST, 5 hours 2 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 1258 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002 THE MAIN FORECAST CONCERN WILL BE THE FLOODING POTENTIAL TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING WV PIX AND 5H 08/12Z RAOB DATA DEPICT A MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT ORIGINATING OFF THE WESTCENTRAL COAST OF MEXICO STREAMING ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. GENEROUS MOISTURE WAS ALSO LOCATED AT THE 85H LEVEL OVER EASTERN TEXAS. SURFACE DEW POINTS AT 08/15Z ACROSS THE AREA WERE IN THE UPPER 60S TO AROUND 70 F. AN UPPER LOW POSITIONED OVER CENTRAL MONTANA IS PROGGED TO PROGRESS EASTWARD OVERNIGHT...BRINGING ITS ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT TOWARD THE AREA. IN ADVANCE OF THIS COLD FROPA...THE POOL OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE OVER EASTERN TEXAS SHOULD ADVECT NORTHEAST TOWARDS THE REGION. TWO DISTINCT PERIODS OF PRECIPITATION LOOK POSSIBLE TONIGHT. THE FIRST BEING DURING THE EVENING HOURS WHEN A SHORTWAVE THROUGH IS PROGGED TO PROGRESS NORTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA WHILE WE ARE STILL IN THE MOIST WARM SECTOR OF THE APPROACHING SYSTEM. THE SECOND CHANCE WOULD APPEAR TO BE DURING THE PRE-DAWN HOURS OF TONIGHT INTO THE FORENOON HOURS OF THURSDAY WHEN THE COLD FRONT IS PROGGED TO PASS ACROSS THE AREA. VERY HEAVY RAINS /2 TO 4 INCHES/ FELL TUESDAY NIGHT ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA. THIS RESULTED IN FLOODING ACROSS PARTS OF THIS REGION. WITH SIMILAR RAINFALL AMOUNTS POSSIBLE AGAIN TONIGHT...A FLOOD WATCH WILL BE ISSUED FOR AT LEAST THIS AREA TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY NOONTIME. THE QUESTION BECOMES HOW MUCH IF ANY OF WESTERN KENTUCKY TO INCLUDE IN THE WATCH. LOOKING AT THE VARIOUS FLASH FLOOD GUIDANCE VALUES...AND THE PROGGED QPF BULL/S EYES FOR TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY...THE AREA OF KENTUCKY SOUTHEAST OF A MURRAY TO GREENVILLE LINE LOOKS TO BE THE LEAST AT RISK FOR FLOODING...AND WILL LEAVE THIS AREA OUT OF THE WATCH. AFTER WHAT APPEARS TO BE A BRIEF BREAK IN THE STORMY WEATHER ON FRIDAY...SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WITH PERIODIC SHORTWAVE TROUGHS PASSING OVER THE AREA WITH GOOD MOISTURE IN PLACE...LOOKS TO BE THE GENERAL WEATHER PATTERN AGAIN ON SATURDAY LASTING THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY. THE CURRENT FORECAST REFLECTS THIS THINKING...AND WILL LEAVE WORDED WEATHER SIMILAR TO CURRENT. CAN SEE A SIMILAR PATTERN SETTING UP AS WHAT IS BEING EXPERIENCED TODAY WITH TEMPERATURES AROUND THE 80 DEGREE MARK THE DAY PRIOR TO THE FROPA. WILL CONTINUE WITH HIGHER THAN FMR/MEX HIGH TEMPS THESE DAYS. TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY THE AREA IS PROGGED TO HAVE NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WITH SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING OVER THE AREA. WILL CONTINUE WITH A PRECIP FREE FORECAST AND TEMPERATURES AVERAGING BELOW NORMAL. .PAH...FFA FOR ALL OF MY SOUTHEAST MISSOURI COUNTIES ALL OF MY SOUTHERN ILLINOIS COUNTIES ALL OF MY SOUTHWEST INDIANA COUNTIES AND THE KENTUCKY COUNTIES NORTHWEST OF A MURRAY TO GREENVILLE LINE. DFS
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 8, 11:42 AM CST, 5 hours 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTION TO QUARTER INCH VS QUARTER SIZE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1242 PM CDT WED MAY 08 2002
TIME(CDT) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0309 PM YELVINGTON KY 0.25 INCH HAIL
05/06/02 DAVIESS REPORTED BY FIRE
DEPARTMENT.The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Jackson
- When
- May 8, 5:00 PM CST to May 31, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jackson forecast zone
- Property damage
- $2,000
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 37.785, -89.382 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Union
- When
- May 8, 5:00 PM CST to May 31, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Union forecast zone
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 37.471, -89.255 (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
- Tornado in Ohio, May 8, 2002
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Kansas, May 8, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Missouri, May 8, 2002
- Flooding in Kansas, May 8 to 9, 2002
- Flash Flooding in Indiana, May 8, 2002
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Missouri, May 8 to 9, 2002
- Flash Flooding in Missouri, May 8, 2002
- Hail in Texas, May 8, 2002
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 8, 2002
- Flooding in Missouri, May 8 to 31, 2002
- Flooding in Missouri, May 8 to 10, 2002
- Flash Flooding in Indiana, May 8, 2002
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: 5295683, 5295684, 5295685.