Flooding in Indiana, February 1 to 13, 2002

Name: Flooding in Indiana, February 1 to 13, 2002
Start: 2002-02-01T00:00
End: 2002-02-13T12:00
Location: Indiana

February 1 to 13, 2002 · NWS IND · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Heavy rain at the end of January caused extensive lowland flooding along the Wabash river. Several county roads were flooded.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 6

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 IND wrote it up.

Heavy rain at the end of January caused extensive lowland flooding along the Wabash river. Several county roads were flooded. Flood Stage: Crest: Date of Crest:Lafayette 11.0 18.43 02/02Covington 16.0 22.07 02/04Montezuma 14.0 21.82 02/04Terre Haute 14.0 18.97 02/05Riverton 15.0 18.91 02/08

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 Indianapolis, IN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 1:56 PM EST, 10 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 1:56 PM EST, 10 hours 4 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
200 PM EST THU JAN 24 2002

PRECIP AMOUNTS MAIN CONCERN TNGT AS SFC WV LIFTS NE ALONG QUASI-STNRY
BNDRY CURRENTLY FM AROUND DAYTON OHIO TO VINCENNES. HUGE TEMP
CONTRAST WITH LWR TO MID 60S S OF THE FNT AND 40S N OF THE FNT.
KIND-88D WAS ONLY SHOWING LGT RN ACRS THE FA...BUT REGIONAL PIX WERE
SHOWING A NICE SLUG OF HEAVIER RN LIFTING NE NEAR THE SFC WV ACRS
MO AND MOVING INTO SWRN IL.

MODELS ARE PRETTY CLOSE IN LIFTING THE SFC WV TO NEAR KFWA BY 06Z
TNGT WITH NICE UVM FIELD ACRS THE FA THIS EVE. MODELS ALSO BRING A
DRY SLOT IN BEHIND THE CD FNT AFT 06Z. SO EXPECT THE HEAVIEST PRECIP
TO START LATE THIS AFT AND CONT THROUGH THE EARLY OVRNGT ACRS NERN
PARTS OF THE FA. MODEL QPFS PRODUCING ABOUT 1 TO 1.5 INCHES OF RAIN
TNGT ACRS THE FA WITH VALUES CLOSER TO .5 TO 1 ACRS XTRM NWRN PARTS.
IF THAT SCENARIO HOLDS TRUE...FFG VALUES WL BE APPROACHED BUT NOT
QUITE EXCEEDED. WL PROBABLY JUST MENTION HEAVY RN AND LEAVE OUT
HEADLINES WITH THE RN ENDING OVRNGT AND MARGINAL QPF. MODEL
INSTABILITY PROGS BRINGING SOME CAPE TO SRN ZONES THIS EVE...AND WITH
LIFT BEING AS STG AS IT IS...WL MENTION THUNDER THERE. WRAPAROUND
MOIST/UPR TROF MOV ACRS ON FRI MRNG WHICH COULD BE ENOUGH TO PRODUCE
SOME FLURRIES/LGT SNOW SHOWERS...BUT THICKNESSES POINT TO ALL RN
TNGT. BIGGEST STORY ON FRI WL BE THE TEMP TRENDS WITH TEMPS EXPECTED
TO REMAIN STEADY OR SLOWLY FALL THROUGH THE 30S AND INTO THE UPR 20S
BY NIGHTFALL. PROBABLY WONT BE ANY SIG CLRG UNTIL FRI NGT AS MODEL
TIME SECS KEEP ENOUGH BNDRY LYR MOIST AROUND DURING THE DAY.
HOWEVER...LOW LVL MOIST DRIES OUT NICELY ON FRI NGT AS SFC HIGH PRES
APPROACHES FM THE SW.

MOS NUMBERS PRETTY CLOSE AND APPEAR REASONABLE CONSIDERING EXPECTED CLD
CVR/LOW LVL THERMAL PROGS. BIGGEST DIFFERENCE COMES TOMORROW WHERE
MAV IS A FEW DEGREES WARMER AND APPEARS BETTER AS EXPECTED LOWS TNGT
ARE RIGHT AROUND MAV HIGHS TOMORROW.

.IND...NONE.
KOCH

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Tippecanoe

When: February 1, 12:00 AM EST to February 7, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Tippecanoe forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.389, -86.894 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Parke

When: February 1, 2:15 AM EST to February 10, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Parke forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.774, -87.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Vermillion

When: February 1, 2:15 AM EST to February 10, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Vermillion forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.854, -87.464 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Fountain

When: February 1, 5:15 AM EST to February 8, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Fountain forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.121, -87.242 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Vigo

When: February 1, 9:45 AM EST to February 10, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Vigo forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.431, -87.390 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Sullivan

When: February 1, 10:15 PM EST to February 13, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Sullivan forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.089, -87.415 (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 Indiana in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, February 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: 5282139, 5282141, 5282144, 5282140, 5282142, 5282143.