3 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Wilmington, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 12, 8:28 PM EST, 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 928 PM EDT SUN MAY 12 2002 LTST SFC MAP SHWS LO PRES OVR EXTREME SE LWR MI BTWN DTW AND TOL. TRAILING COLD FRONT FM NR FWA TO JUST W OF IND THRU SRN IL AND INTO ERN TX. S/WV TROF OVR CNTRL PLNS TO TRACK E INTO THE MID MS VLY TNGT AND INTO THE OH VLY MON. CDFNT TO DROP S THRU FA OVRNGT AND STALL OUT S OF OH VLY PARALLEL TO MID/UPR LVL FLO UNTIL UPR S/WV PASSES. BEST INSTBY ARND 1500 J/KG IN LWR OH FEEDING STMS OVR SRN IL/SRN IN. THESE STORMS MOVG INTO SE IN AND SW OH. THESE STORMS WL WEAKEN AS THEY MOVE INTO MORE STABLE AMS WITH CAPES 500-1000J/KG WITH FLOODING BEING THE MAIN WX THREAT. RADAR SHWG HOURLY RATES UP TO 2 INCHES OVR SE IN. THIS VRY HEAVY RAINFALL WL TRACK ACRS SRN FA TNGT. WL CONT FLOOD WATCH ACRS THE S TONIGHT INTO MON. CURR FCST LOOKS GOOD. WL ONLY MAKE MINOR WORDING ADJUSTMENTS FOR WINDS AND TEMPS TNGT. .ILN... IN...FLOOD WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY FOR ZONES INZ073>075... INZ080. KY...FLOOD WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY FOR ZONES KYZ089>100. OH...FLOOD WATCH FOR SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY FOR ZONES OHZ070>074... OHZ077>082...OHZ088. RANDALL
The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:57 UTC.
3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
An automobile was trapped when high water surged over a bridge.
High water covered several roads.
A few roads near town were underwater.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, 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: 5299008, 5299009, 5299010.