3 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 14, 5:40 AM CST, 5 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 640 AM CDT FRI MAY 14 2004 .DISCUSSION FOR MORNING GRIDS/ZFP... MAIN FOCUS OF FORECAST CONCERNS PRECIP TRENDS TODAY AND EFFECT ON CURRENT FLOOD WATCH...AND TEMP TRENDS WITH FRONT ACROSS CWA THIS MORNING. UPPER PATTERN SHOWS TROUGH OVER CENTRAL PLAINS THIS MORNING...WITH WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWING SHORT WAVE ENERGY LIFTING THROUGH MID MS/LOWER OH VALLEYS. PRECIP HAS BECOME SPOTTY OVER FORECAST AREA EARLY THIS MORNING...THOUGH WIND PROFILER AT WINCHESTER IL SHOWS BACKING OF MID TROPOSPHERIC FLOW IN ADVANCE OF S/WV...WITH ASSOCIATED AREA OF PCPN EXPANDING ACROSS SOUTHERN/CENTRAL IL. THUS EXPECT INCREASE IN RA/SHRA THIS MORNING AS WAVE LIFTS NE ALONG FRONT. TEMP LAPSE RATES NOT VERY IMPRESSIVE...THUS THINK TSRA THREAT TO BE CONFINED MAINLY TO NORTHWEST INDIANA LATER TODAY. AT THE SFC...COLD FRONT SLOGGING EAST...APPROXIMATELY KORD-KBMI AT 08Z. HAVE GENERALLY FOLLOWED MESO-ETA TIMING WITH RESPECT TO MID LEVEL TROUGH AND SFC FRONT...WHICH BRINGS S/WV AXIS THROUGH BY 18Z...AND FRONT JUST EAST OF CWA BY THAT TIME. THUS EXPECT GRADUAL WEST TO EAST DECREASE IN SHOWERS DURING AFTERNOON. HPC/MODEL QPF VALUES LESS THAN 0.50 INCHES...AND THAT SPREAD OVER 6 HOURS OR MORE. 3 HOUR 88-D ESTIMATED RAINFALL LESS THAN 0.10 INCHES...AND WITH THREAT OF WIDESPREAD FLOODING MINIMAL WILL CANCEL FLOOD WATCH. OTHER TOUGH PART OF FORECAST IS TEMPS TODAY. MAX TEMPS OVER PARTS OF THE UPPER MIDWEST ONLY IN 40S THURSDAY BEHIND COLD FRONT...WITH SFC PARCEL TRAJECTORIES SUGGESTING 45-50 DEG SOURCE AIR UPSTREAM. UPPER 50S IN WESTERN COUNTIES AT 09Z...WHILE MID TO UPPER 60S SOUTHEAST. EXPECTING SIGNIFICANT CLOUD COVER TODAY...SO CURRENT TEMPS MAY BE ABOUT IT FOR MAXES...WITH READINGS HOLDING STEADY OR FALLING A BIT THIS MORNING THEN REBOUNDING TO NEAR CURRENT TEMPS THIS AFTN. SFC RIDGE BUILDS INTO REGION TONIGHT...AND GIVEN COOL AIRMASS HAVE LOWERED MIN TEMPS A FEW DEGREES THOUGH MODEL TIME SECTIONS HANG ON TO QUITE A BIT OF MOISTURE IN LOW LEVELS. HAVE SLOWED CLEARING A BIT OVERNIGHT TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS. RIDGE AXIS PASSES SATURDAY NIGHT...ALLOWING WARMER TEMPS SUN/MON. REST OF FCST LOOKS TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE. RATZER .AVIATION FOR 12Z TAFS... IFR/LO IFR CIGS THE IDEA THIS MORNING IN RA AS FRONT CREEPS EAST WITH WEAK LOW OVER MDW. SMALL VORT SHOWING ON RADAR MOSAIC OVER SE MO MOVG NE PER MODELS. BIG SWATCH RA TO N OF VORT OVER ALL IL. BEST LIFT DONE BY 18-19Z BUT STILL VERY HIGH RH SO THINK STILL SOME DRIBBLE TIL ABOUT 21Z-22Z WHEN FINALLY UP TO MVFR CIGS. CLOUDS BREAK IN 08-10Z TIME FRAME. BECAUSE OF LATE BREAK DO NOT THINK WILL BE ANY BR LATE TONIGHT. NO LTG ANYWHERE IN AREA SO NO TS IN ANY TAFS. AF && .LOT...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...NONE. IN...NONE. LK MI...NONE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK CORRECTION TO LAKE OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 830 AM CDT FRI MAY 14 2004 ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011- 019-151100- BENTON-BOONE-COOK-DE KALB-DU PAGE-FORD-GRUNDY-IROQUOIS-JASPER- KANE-KANKAKEE-KENDALL-LA SALLE-LAKE-LAKE IN-LEE-LIVINGSTON- MCHENRY-NEWTON-OGLE-PORTER-WILL-WINNEBAGO- 830 AM CDT (830 AM EST) FRI MAY 14 2004 THIS PORTION OF THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS...AND NORTHWEST INDIANA. .DAY ONE... TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. RAIN...WITH A FEW EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA MOST OF TODAY. RAINFALL RATES WILL GENERALLY BE ON THE LIGHT SIDE SO FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE A PROBLEM AND NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SATURDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA AGAIN MONDAY INTO TUESDAY...AND AGAIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. && NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE: WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/LOT (LOWER CASE) LMZ740>746-766-151100- WINTHROP HARBOR TO WILMETTE HARBOR- WILMETTE HARBOR TO NORTHERLY ISLAND- NORTHERLY ISLAND TO CALUMET HARBOR-CALUMET HARBOR TO GARY- GARY TO BURNS HARBOR-BURNS HARBOR TO MICHIGAN CITY- MICHIGAN CITY TO NEW BUFFALO-LAKE MICHIGAN- 830 AM CDT FRI MAY 14 2004 THIS PORTION OF THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE ILLINOIS AND INDIANA WATERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE... TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SATURDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...AND AGAIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY. && NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE: WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/LOT (LOWER CASE) MERZLOCK
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 61 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:44 UTC.
3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Street flooding occurred. A total of 1.64 inches of rain fell in less than one hour.
Strret flooding occurred.
Creek and stream flooding occurred. A total of 1.36 inches of rain fell in 28 minutes.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, May 2004
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: 5396846, 5396847, 5396845.