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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 20, 2:15 AM CST, 6 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 215 AM CST WED MAR 20 2002 INTERESTING CHALLENGE DURING THE NEXT 12-24 HOURS WILL BE THE CHANGE IN CLOUD COVER...LIKELIHOOD OF FOG DEVELOPMENT...AND THREAT OF TRACE PCPN /SPRINKLES/ OVER SWRN IN AND WRN KY. SOME CLEARING ALREADY TAKING PLACE IN RIPLEY AND CARTER COUNTIES IN SERN MO. AVN/ETA HAVE DIFFERING SOLNS ON SPATIAL/TEMPORAL ASPECTS OF DECREASING CLOUD COVER OVERNIGHT. UPPER LOW AND ATTENDANT DEFORMATION ZONE PCPN BAND NOTICEABLE ON WSR-88D IMAGERY OVER SWRN AR. AVN MODEL IS THE CLOSEST IN TRANSLATING THIS FEATURE EWD INTO MS. THE LIFT PRODUCED IN THIS DEFORMATION ZONE MAY LIMIT DEGREE OF CLEARING...MAINLY ACROSS THE WESTERN KY COUNTIES...EAST OF THE LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES OVERNIGHT. CANNOT RULE OUT A FEW SPRINKLES SOUTHEAST OF A CADIZ-MADISONZVILLE KY LINE THIS EVENING...BUT I AM NOT INCLINED TO MENTION THIS ISOLATED TRACE EVENT IN THE ZONE PACKAGE. I WILL LIKELY NEED TO CONSIDER THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOG FROM LATE EVENING ON OVER NW 1/2 OF THE CWA...THEN OVER THE REST OF THE WFO PAH FORECAST AREA AROUND OR AFTER MIDNIGHT. AT THIS TIME...WILL LIKELY LEAVE MENTION OF PATCHY OR AREA FOG COVERAGE OVERNIGHT...BUT WILL HOLD BACK ON MENTION OF DENSE FOG. EVENING SHIFT WILL NEED TO ASSESS THE POTENTIAL FOR A DENSE FOG ADVISORY SHOULD SKIES CLEAR FASTER THAN EXPECTED. MSTR BELOW 900 MB REMAINS ABOVE 70 PERCENT OVER SERN 1/2 OF THE CWA THROUGH MIDNIGHT...WITH STABLE LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATE PROFILES BETWEEN 950-900 MB. WINDS AT THE SURFACE UP TO 900 MB BECOME CALM BY 06Z TO THE NWRN AREAS...WHERE RH VALUES UP TO 900 MB DROP BELOW 60 PERCENT. GIVEN THE RICH SURFACE MSTR LEFT FROM THIS WEEKS RAINS...SFC BASED MOISTURE SUPPLY FOR FOG SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM. MESOETA PROGS COLD FRONT TO MOVE THROUGH NWRN COUNTIES SHORTLY AFTER DAYBREAK ON THU...WITH ATTENDANT CAA HOLDING TEMPS BACK. DO NOT EXPECT MUCH OF A RISE WITH CAA IN PLACE...AS WELL AS NARROW BAND OF STCU DEVELOPING ALONG AND BEHIND THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY. I WILL ALSO NEED TO INCREASE WINDS FOLLOWING FRONTAL PASSAGE. THESE WINDS SHOULD DIMINISH BETWEEN 03-06Z FRI. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME SPRINKLES IN SWRN IN AND WRN KY DURING THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. NEXT CHANCE FOR RAIN WILL WORK BACK IN ON SUNDAY WITH DEVELOPING WAA /FRONTEGENESIS ALONG THE NRN PTN OF THE CWA. WILL KEEP GOOD/LIKELY CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FROM LATE SUN THROUGH WEDNESDAY...AS S/WV EJECT OUT OF TROUGH BEING CARVED OUT IN THE WRN U.S. THE S/WV ON TUE CONTINUES TO HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR A MIX OF SVR WX/FLASH FLOOD POTENTIAL AT THIS POINT. WILL WAIT AND SEE ON TIMING. I WILL USE A MIX OF AVN/ETA SURFACE TEMPS AS REFERENCE FRAME FOR TEMPS TONIGHT AND AHEAD OF COLD FRONT THURSDAY. .PAH...NONE. SMITH
ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-100- 107>112-114-201800- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 616 AM CST WED MAR 20 2002 ...HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...WESTERN KENTUCKY...AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA... THREATS... RUNOFF FROM RECENT RAINS WILL LIKELY CAUSE MINOR FLOODING ON SELECTED AREA RIVERS...CREEKS...AND STREAMS TODAY. DITCHES AND SECONDARY ROADS THAT ARE TYPICALLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO HIGH WATER PROBLEMS WILL BE IMPACTED AS WELL. DISCUSSION... AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE BOUNDARY JUST EAST OF THE REGION WILL MOVE SLOWLY EASTWARD TODAY. AS A RESULT...LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINFALL OVER MUCH OF THE REGION EARLY THIS MORNING WILL TAPER OFF FROM WEST TO EAST DURING THE MORNING HOURS AND CLEAR THE SOUTHEAST SECTIONS OF WESTERN KENTUCKY BY EARLY AFTERNOON. SPOTTER ACTIVATION... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. HOWEVER...SPOTTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO MONITOR THE FLOODING SITUATION AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE THE APPROPRIATE ACTION IF NECESSARY. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR MONITOR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA SOURCE FOR THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS...STATEMENTS...AND POSSIBLE RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS. && PACKETT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The St. Francis River was above flood stage for a while on March 20. The crest was only about 6 inches above the 16-foot flood stage, which caused only minor flooding of low-lying rural areas.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, March 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: 5280656.