Flash Flood in Missouri, July 12, 2002

Name: Flash Flood in Missouri, July 12, 2002
Start: 2002-07-12T03:45
End: 2002-07-12T05:45
Location: Missouri

July 12, 2002 · NWS SGF · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Excessive rainfall of three inches in less than one hour caused Highway Z east of Climax Springs to flooded and remain impassable for a few hours.

Where it happened

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.

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: 1

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 SGF wrote it up.

Excessive rainfall of three inches in less than one hour caused Highway Z east of Climax Springs to flooded and remain impassable for a few hours.

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 Springfield, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 12, 1:32 AM CST, 2 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 12, 1:32 AM CST, 2 hours 13 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPRINGFIELD MO
232 AM CDT FRI JUL 12 2002

MAIN FOCUS THIS PERIOD WILL BE WITH MEANDERING UPPER LEVEL WAVE AND
ASSOCIATED PRECIPITATION CHANCES AND QPF.

SURFACE FRONTAL SYSTEM STILL LOCATED ACROSS CENTRAL MISSOURI...WITH
DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 60S TO LOW 70S.  UPPER LEVEL WAVE WAS PUSHING
SOUTH INTO NORTHWEST MISSOURI.  SHOWERS AND STORMS CONTINUE TO FOCUS
ALONG SURFACE BOUNDARY AHEAD OF UPPER LEVEL WAVE ACROSS CENTRAL
MISSOURI.  PLENTY OF MOISTURE TO WORK WITH PW VALUES AROUND 1.5 IN.
SLOW MOVING STRONG STORMS PRODUCING BETWEEN 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAIN
PER HOUR OVER NORTHERN ZONES.  WILL CONTINUE INHERITED FLOOD WATCH
FOR TODAY ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MISSOURI.

UPPER LOW WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY DRIFT SOUTH TODAY AND ALONG WITH
SURFACE BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE FOCUS FOR SHOWER AND
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT.  HEAVY RAIN WILL REMAIN
LIKELY...ESPECIALLY IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONT.  UPPER LEVEL WAVE
DROPS SOUTH INTO SOUTHWEST MISSOURI TONIGHT...AND THE BEST CHANCES
OF PRECIPITATION WILL SHIFT SOUTH INTO SOUTHERN MISSOURI.

AS HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT BUILDS INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS...THE UPPER
LEVEL SYSTEM WILL GET CUT OFF FROM THE MAIN FLOW AND WILL MEANDER
AROUND OKLAHOMA AND KANSAS FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.  ENOUGH
MOISTURE AND LIFT SHOULD BE PRESENT FOR SCATTERED AFTERNOON AND
EVENING CONVECTION THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.  INHERITED GRIDS
COVER THIS WELL...AND WILL NOT MAKE MANY CHANGES TO THE
PRECIPITATION FIELDS.

CLOUD COVER AND RAINFALL OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...ALONG WITH AN EAST
TO NORTHEAST FLOW IN THE LOWER LEVELS WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES AT A
REASONABLE LEVEL.  GUIDANCE SEEMS TO HAVE A DECENT HANDLE ON THIS
AND WILL STICK FAIRLY CLOSE.

FCSTID = 5
SGF   82  65  79  62 /  70  70  40  20
JLN   83  67  81  64 /  60  70  50  30
UNO   83  66  80  64 /  80  70  50  20
VIH   79  62  80  61 /  80  70  40  10
AIZ   80  65  79  62 /  70  70  40  20

.SGF...
MO...FLOOD WATCH FOR FRIDAY FOR ZONES MOZ055>058...MOZ067>071...
MOZ078>083...MOZ089>092...MOZ098.

KS...NONE.

LINDENBERG

The radar

The Springfield radar (KSGF), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:44 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Camden

When: July 12, 3:45 AM CST to 5:45 AM CST
Where: Camden County, North Portion
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.027, -92.766 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Missouri in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Missouri, July 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: 5306671.