1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 Indianapolis, IN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 12, 3:25 PM EST, 10 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 325 PM EST SUN MAY 12 2002 FORECAST FOCUS IN RAINFALL TONIGHT AND CHANCES FOR RAIN MON-TUE. AT 19Z COLD FRONT WAS ACROSS IL. NUMEROUS T/SHRA WERE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA (FA). RAIN-COOLED AIR COVERED MOST OF FA WITH WARM UNSTABLE AIR ACROSS FAR SRN FA. MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT. AVN LOOKS OVERDONE WITH PRECIP AND TOO FAR NORTH. WILL USE AN ETA/NGM BLEND FOR PRECIP TONIGHT...OTHERWISE WENT WITH BLEND OF ALL MODELS. FRONT WILL SINK SOUTH TONIGHT AS UPPER TROUGH APPROACHES. JET STREAK WILL ADD TO THIS MIX AND HELP CREATE MORE RAIN FOR THE FA. BEST MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY WILL BE ACROSS SOUTHERN 1/3 OF FA...BUT NORTHERN 2/3 OF FA HAS HAD THE MOST RAIN TODAY AND WILL NOT NEED MUCH TO CAUSE PROBLEMS. WILL THUS KEEP FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT TONIGHT FOR ENTIRE FA. IF PRECIP PUSHES SOUTH QUICKLY...WATCH MAY BE NEED TO CANCELLED EARLY IN THE NORTH. WILL NOT TIME RAIN IN MOST OF FA...BUT WILL SAY MAINLY IN EVENING FAR NRN FA. CONCERNING TEMPS... ETAMOS/FWC/MAV ARE SIMILAR AND LOOK REASONABLE. ON MONDAY UPPER TROUGH EXITS FA TAKING MOST OF PRECIP BY LATE MORNING. PLENTY OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE PLUS VERY COOL AIR AT 850 WILL KEEP SKIES CLOUDY. THIS COMBINATION WILL KEEP TEMPS NEAR SIMILAR MOS NUMBERS. FEEL THAT CLOUDS WILL BREAK ENOUGH MON NIGHT FOR PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES. ON TUE UPPER LOW ACROSS ERN US WILL KEEP MORE CLOUDS ACROSS EAST BUT PTSUNNY LOOKS OK. DO NOT BELIEVE THERE WILL BE ENOUGH MOISTURE FOR -SHRA...SO WILL KEEP FORECAST DRY. MAV TEMPS LOOK TOO COOL SO WILL COMPROMISE WITH WARMER FWC/ETAMOS. .IND...FLOOD WATCH ENTIRE CWA TONIGHT... INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>065-067>072
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
926 PM EST SUN MAY 12 2002
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0700 PM COUNTYWIDE IN FLOOD
05/12/02 HAMILTON NUMEROUS ROADS FLOODED
AND SMALL STREAMS OUT
OF THEIR BANKS. 4 HOMES
EVACUATED IN ARCADIA.
EVENT DURATION 140
MINUTES. REPORTED BY
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1020 PM EST SUN MAY 12 2002
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0515 PM COUNTY WIDE IN FLOOD
05/12/02 HAMILTON MULTIPLE COUNTY ROADS
CLOSED. REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0520 PM COUNTY WIDE IN FLOOD
05/12/02 RANDOLPH MULTIPLE COUNTY ROADS
CLOSED. REPORTED BY
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0540 PM COUNTY WIDE IN FLOOD
05/12/02 MADISON MULTIPLE ROADS CLOSED.
SOME HOME FLOODING.
REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0930 PM TAMPICO IN WIND DAMAGE
05/12/02 JACKSON TREES DOWN ON POWER
LINES SR 39 . REPORTED
BY LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICIAL.
0940 PM COUNTY WIDE IN FLOOD
05/12/02 DECATUR MULTIPLE ROADS CLOSED.
REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0940 PM WEST TERRE HAUTE IN FLOOD
05/12/02 VIGO SANDBAGGING SUGAR CREEK
JUST WEST OF WEST TERRE
HAUTE. WATER FROM THE
CREEK IS COVERING US
40 CLOSING THE HIGHWAY.
REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0940 PM SHELBURN IN FLOOD
05/12/02 SULLIVAN MANY ROADS CLOSED AND
SOME GRAVEL ROADS
WASHED OUT. SR 48
WEST OF SHELBURN
CLOSED. REPORTED BY
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0940 PM POLAND IN FLOOD
05/12/02 CLAY SR 42 CLOSED. MULTIPLE
OTHER COUNTY ROADS
CLOSED. REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0943 PM COUNTY WIDE IN FLOOD
05/12/02 GREENE MULTIPLE COUNTY ROADS
CLOSED. REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0943 PM COUNTY WIDE IN FLOOD
05/12/02 OWEN MULTIPLE COUNTY ROADS
UNDER WATER AND
IMPASSIBLE. REPORTED BY
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
0950 PM COLUMBUS IN FLOOD
05/12/02 BARTHOLOMEW MAR ROAD HAD 3 TO 4
INCHES OF WATER FLOWING
ACROSS THE ROAD WHICH
IS 4 LANES. REPORTED BY
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1029 PM EST SUN MAY 12 2002
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0830 PM COUNTYWIDE IN FLOOD
05/12/02 KNOX NUMEROUS ROADS WATER
COVERED. EVENT DURATION
150 MINUTES. REPORTED
BY LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICIAL.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1037 PM EST SUN MAY 12 2002
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
0830 PM COUNTYWIDE IN FLOOD
05/12/02 DAVIESS NUMEROUS REPORTS OF
ROADS WATER COVERED.
REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.
EVENT DURATION 150
MINUTES.
0830 PM COUNTYWIDE IN FLOOD
05/12/02 MARTIN NUMEROUS REPORTS OF
FLOODED ROADS. 1
VEHICLE STRANDED. EVENT
DURATION 150 MINUTES.
REPORTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1103 PM EST SUN MAY 12 2002
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1055 PM FREEMAN IN FLOOD
05/12/02 OWEN STATE ROAD 43 NEAR
FREEMAN HAD 4 FEET DEEP
WATER ACROSS THE ROAD.
2 HOMES WERE BEING
EVACUATED. REPORTED BY
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1139 PM EST SUN MAY 12 2002
TIME(EST) .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE ...EVENT/REMARKS...
....COUNTY LOCATION....
1135 PM VINCENNES IN FLOOD
05/12/02 KNOX EVACUATING TRAILER PARK
NEAR KELSO CREEK DUE TO
HIGH WATER. REPORTED BY
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flooding along East Fork White River. At Seymour 2N, the river crested at 18.45 feet, and the flood stage is 12.0 feet. Extensive flooding occurred, with many roads closed and some rural residences affected.
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: 5296228.