Missouri, 2002Flash Flood in Missouri, July 31, 2002
July 31, 2002 · NWS PAH · 1 event in 1 county or zone
1 flash 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.
- 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
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- Property damage
- $25,000
- 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 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 Jul 31, 1:00 AM CST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 1:00 AM CST, 2 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
200 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2002
THE FORECAST CHALLENGE REMAINS THE IMPACT OF THE UPPER LEVEL SHEAR
AXIS ON PRECIPITATION CHANCES.
00Z UPPER AIR ANALYSIS DEPICTED AN UPPER-LEVEL SHEAR AXIS SOMEWHERE
NEAR THE ARKANSAS-MISSOURI AND KENTUCKY-TENNESSEE BORDERS. THIS
FEATURE WAS LIKELY THE TRIGGER BEHIND THE SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM
ACTIVITY WHICH HAD DEVELOPED OVER FAR NORTHEAST ARKANSAS INTO
WESTERN TENNESSEE OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS. THE PRECIPITATION WAS
BEGINNING TO SQUEEZE INTO OUR FAR SOUTHERN MISSOURI COUNTIES THANKS
TO LOW-LEVEL WEST-SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW IN THE LOWEST 10 KFT AS
DEPICTED BY THE BLOOMFIELD PROFILER.
THERE IS A SLIGHT VARIATION IN HOW ALL THREE MODELS HANDLE THE
MOVEMENT OF THIS SHEAR AXIS TODAY. THE ETA APPEARS TOO AGGRESSIVE...
WHILE THE AVN STILL SEEMS TOO SLOW. WILL STRIKE A COMPROMISE BETWEEN
THE TWO BY ADDING SLIGHT CHANCE POPS TO EXTREME SOUTHERN COUNTIES IN
MISSOURI AND KENTUCKY FOR TODAY. THIS MATCHES FAIRLY WELL WITH BOTH
MAV AND FWC MOS POPS. ACROSS THE NORTHERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE AREA...
ANTICIPATE DRY CONDITIONS AS DRIER MORE STABLE MID-LEVEL AIR TAKES
HOLD.
DRY CONDITIONS SHOULD ENVELOP THE ENTIRE REGION TONIGHT AND THURSDAY
AS THE SHEAR AXIS CONTINUES TO WEAKEN AND DRIFT SOUTH OF THE AREA.
DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK...AN UPPER-LEVEL HIGH OVER THE
SOUTHWESTERN STATES WILL PUSH EAST TOWARD THE REGION. BY FRIDAY...
AVN IS MORE AGGRESSIVE IN ITS SOUTHWARD PROGRESSION OF AN
APPROACHING COLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY. GIVEN THE TIME OF YEAR AND THE
BLOCKING ACTION OF THE UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE...TEND TO PREFER THE SLOWER
ETA SOLUTION...WHICH SUGGESTS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY MAY STALL OUT
BEFORE REACHING THE AREA. HOT DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED INTO EARLY
NEXT WEEK. GIVEN DIFFERING MODEL SOLUTIONS...WILL NOT MAKE ANY
CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED AT THIS TIME.
MOS GUIDANCE COMPARES FAVORABLY WELL. WILL LEAN TOWARD SLIGHTLY
WARMER FWC NUMBERS DURING THE DAY...WITH A COMPROMISE BETWEEN THE
MAV AND FWC AT NIGHT.
.PAH...NONE.
RJP
Flash Flood, Ripley
- When
- July 31, 3:15 AM CST to 9:15 AM CST
- Where
- Ripley County, Briar
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 36.653, -90.864 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Major flash flooding of creeks occurred in southwest Ripley County. In Gatewood, water from the West Fork Creek forced the evacuation of a residence and flooded Highway 142. A vehicle was swept into the creek, and both occupants were rescued. One of the occupants was moderately injured. Another water rescue was conducted when a vehicle was swept into a creek on Highway P. The motorist was uninjured. Water and debris was over Highway 160 near Briar and just west of Highway C. A few roads were damaged by erosion.
- 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.
- Flood and Hail in Georgia, July 31, 2002$542,000 · 0.88 in hail · 27 events
- Wildfire in Colorado, July 31, 2002$1.0 million · 1 event
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Dakota, July 31, 2002$3,000 · F0 · 29 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, July 31, 20021.5 in hail · 22 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, July 31, 20021 in hail · 13 events
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Huron, July 31, 20026 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 31, 2002$6,000 · 1.75 in hail · 6 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Dakota, July 31, 2002$3,000 · 1.75 in hail · 5 events
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Michigan, July 31, 20021 in hail · 5 events
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, July 31, 200250 kt wind · 5 events
- Hail in Minnesota, July 31, 20021 in hail · 4 events
- Damaging Winds in South Carolina, July 31, 200252 kt wind · 4 events
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: 5302188.