Flash Flooding in Missouri, May 12, 2002

Name: Flash Flooding in Missouri, May 12, 2002
Start: 2002-05-12T00:30
End: 2002-05-12T04:00
Location: Missouri

May 12, 2002 · NWS LSX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Rainfall estimated as high as 6 inches caused widespread flash flooding across the area. Numerous roads became impassable as nearly every creek and small stream flooded.

Where it happened

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.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 2
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 LSX wrote it up.

Rainfall estimated as high as 6 inches caused widespread flash flooding across the area. Numerous roads became impassable as nearly every creek and small stream flooded. Two men suffered minor injuries near Hurdland in Knox County when they drove their truck into a flooded road. Another man had to be rescued after he was swept down a slough along Route K near Colony. Near Newark, 2 men drove into high water, abandoned their vehicle, but did not notify any official source. The 2 were issued summonses for not reporting the incident, as rescue attempts were made on the submerged vehicle. In Edina, the Farm & Home store was flooded with virtually the entire inventory destroyed. In Knox County, Routes 11 and 151, and County Roads C, J, F, V, K, M, TT were all closed. In Shelby County, Highways 151, N and K were all closed.

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 St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 11, 1:40 PM CST, 10 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 11, 1:40 PM CST, 10 hours 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
240 PM CDT SAT MAY 11 2002

MAIN CONCERNS THIS PKG TO BE PLACEMENT AND TIMING ON HVY RAFL EVENT
FOR FA. MDLS INITIALIZED WELL WITH 50H HI OVR ERN GLF MEX AND S/WV
TROF FM NRN RCKY MTNS TO CTRL CA. LO CLOSES OFF OVR SRN RCKYS BY 24H
THEN OPENS AS TROF ACRS FA BY 48H. NWLY FLOW ALFT AS RDG BLDS OVR
RCKY MTNS. RDG MVS SLOLY E WITH DRY WX THRU MIDWK AND NXT PCPN IN
LATTER PART OF XTNDD.

AT LWR LVLS PLENTY OF MSTR ADVCTG INTO RGN FOR ANTHR HVY PCPN EVENT
TNGT INTO SUN. WMFNT AT 19Z LOCTD ALG NRN PTN OF FA WITH SFC DPS
QUICKLY RISING INTO MID 60S. SAT SHWG DCRG CLDS OVR CTRL AND SRN ZNS
WITH SFC TEMPS WRMG INTO MID AND UPR 70S. MDLS IN GD AGMT WITH
DVLPMT AND MVMT OF SFC LO BUT MINOR DIFFS IN PLACEMENT OF QPF MAXES
TNGT AND SUN. AVN HAS MAXES SLGTLY MORE N AND W FM ETA. WL CONT
FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL CTRL AND NRN ZNS FOR TNGT AND FOR ALL ZNS FOR
SUN. MDLS INDCTG ANTHR MCS TO DVLP SUN NGT ALG FNT AND WATCH FOR SRN
ZNS PROB BE XTNDD BUT WL LV FOR NXT PKG.

GOING FCSTS ON TEMPS AND POPS GOOD AND WL ONLY TWEAK. CATEGORICAL
POPS OVR ALL BUT SRN ZNS FOR TNGT AND EVERYWHERE TMRW. CFNT TO MV SE
ACRS RGN ON SUN CRSG KSTL RGN APPROX 20Z. PCPN MAINLY TO BE ALG AND
AHD OF CFNT BUT FNT SLOWS ACRS SE MO SUN NGT AND WL KP HI POPS IN
CTRL AND SRN ZNS FOR 3RD PD.

TEMPS IN GEN AGMT THRU 36H BUT FAN TRENDING A LTL COOL AFTWDS. WL GO
WITH BLEND AS FWC PROB TOO WRM GIVEN XPCTD PCPN.

IN XTNDD WL DROP POPS IN NRN ZNS BUT KP CHC FM THU THRU SAT IN CTRL
AND SRN ZNS. HI PRES OVR RGN THRU MIDWK TO KP TEMPS AT OR BLO NRML
THRU XTNDD PD.

.STL...FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR CTRL AND NRN ZNS TNGT AND ENTIRE FCST
       AREA FOR SUN.

WDB

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 203 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Knox

When: May 12, 12:30 AM CST to 4:00 AM CST
Where: Knox County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.128, -92.148 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Lewis

When: May 12, 12:30 AM CST to 4:00 AM CST
Where: Lewis County, Countywide
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.097, -91.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Shelby

When: May 12, 12:30 AM CST to 4:00 AM CST
Where: Shelby County, Countywide
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.798, -92.077 (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, May 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: 5291594, 5291595, 5291596.