Flooding in Illinois, March 11 to 26, 2006

Name: Flooding in Illinois, March 11 to 26, 2006
Start: 2006-03-11T13:00
End: 2006-03-26T18:00
Location: Illinois

March 11 to 26, 2006 · NWS PAH · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Moderate flooding of the Wabash River occurred after repeated episodes of widespread thunderstorms. 94 feet on March 18.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: 2

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 PAH wrote it up.

Moderate flooding of the Wabash River occurred after repeated episodes of widespread thunderstorms. At Mount Carmel, where flood stage is 19 feet, the river crested at 28.94 feet on March 18. At New Harmony, IN, where flood stage is 15 feet, the river crested at 20.10 feet on March 21. Near Mount Carmel, the river was above the critical stage of the Rochester-Mcleary Bluff levee. Cattle and farm equipment were moved. Most roads along the river were impassable. Extensive lowland flooding was observed. Flood gates were installed at Mount Carmel, and some mobile homes required evacuation. The Wabash River was more than two miles wide at Interstate 64.

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 Mar 11, 3:48 AM CST, 9 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 11, 3:48 AM CST, 9 hours 12 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
348 AM CST SAT MAR 11 2006

.DISCUSSION...
ELEVATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ONGOING ACROSS THE NORTHERN 1/2 OF
THE FA...WITH CONVECTION SEEN OVER NORTH CENTRAL ARKANSAS AS WELL
EARLY THIS MORNING. CONVECTION BEING SUPPORTED BY DECENT ELEVATED
INSTABILITY AND LOW / MID TROP STRONG WIND FIELDS. THE MODELS ARE
IN GENERAL AGREEMENT GRADUALLY SHIFTING CONVECTION ACROSS THE FA
THROUGH THE MORNING...THEN NORTH AND EAST OF THE REGION BY
AFTERNOON. SO TENDED POPS ACCORDINGLY.

ENERGETIC SW FLOW TO PERSIST OVER THE WEEKEND...WITH THE MODELS
ADVERTISING SEVERE WX AND HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL...MAINLY LATE
SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT...AND AGAIN SUNDAY NIGHT. WILL GO
AHEAD AND ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH...AS MORE THAN ONE ROUND OF DEEP
CONVECTION IS FORECAST TO AFFECT AREAS THAT HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED
HEFTY RAINFALL TOTALS FROM THE EVENT LATE WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY.
SEVERE POTENTIAL THERE AS WELL. THE WIND FIELDS SATURDAY NIGHT
WILL ONLY BE MARGINALLY SUPPORTIVE...BUT INSTABILITY WILL BE
DECENT. SUNDAY NIGHT MAY BE OF GREATER CONCERN...AS THE WIND FIELDS
ARE FORECAST TO INCREASE SUBSTANTIALLY. THUS...THE LARGE DAY 2
MODERATE RISK AREA.

MODELS FINALLY SHIFT THE BULK OF THE ACTIVITY EAST OF THE REGION
MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT. WILL HOLD ONTO HIGHER POPS ACROSS THE EAST
1/2 OF THE FA MONDAY...BUT TAPER OFF POPS ACROSS THE WEST.

NO CHANGES MADE TO THE LONG RANGE PORTION OF THE FORECAST. IN THE
SHORT TERM...GENERALLY USED A BLEND OF MAV AND MET NUMBERS.

&&

.PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KY...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT FOR BALLARD-CALDWELL-
     CALLOWAY-CARLISLE-CHRISTIAN-CRITTENDEN-DAVIESS-FULTON-
     GRAVES-HENDERSON-HICKMAN-HOPKINS-LIVINGSTON-LYON-MARSHALL-
     MCCRACKEN-MCLEAN-MUHLENBERG-TODD-TRIGG-UNION KY-WEBSTER.

MO...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT FOR BOLLINGER-BUTLER-CAPE
     GIRARDEAU-CARTER-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID-PERRY MO-RIPLEY-
     SCOTT-STODDARD-WAYNE MO.

IL...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT FOR ALEXANDER-EDWARDS-
     FRANKLIN-GALLATIN-HAMILTON-HARDIN-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-
     MASSAC-PERRY IL-POPE-PULASKI-SALINE-UNION IL-WABASH-WAYNE
     IL-WHITE-WILLIAMSON.

IN...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT FOR GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-
     SPENCER-VANDERBURGH-WARRICK.

&&

Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 11, 12:13 PM CST, 47 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1213 PM CST SAT MAR 11 2006

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-121100-
JEFFERSON-WAYNE IL-EDWARDS-WABASH-PERRY IL-FRANKLIN-HAMILTON-
WHITE-JACKSON-WILLIAMSON-SALINE-GALLATIN-UNION IL-JOHNSON-POPE-
HARDIN-ALEXANDER-PULASKI-MASSAC-GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-VANDERBURGH-
WARRICK-SPENCER-FULTON-HICKMAN-CARLISLE-BALLARD-MCCRACKEN-GRAVES-
LIVINGSTON-MARSHALL-CALLOWAY-CRITTENDEN-LYON-TRIGG-CALDWELL-
UNION KY-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-HENDERSON-DAVIESS-MCLEAN-
MUHLENBERG-TODD-PERRY MO-BOLLINGER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-WAYNE MO-CARTER-
RIPLEY-BUTLER-STODDARD-SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID-
1213 PM CST SAT MAR 11 2006

...SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK POSSIBLE TONIGHT AND AGAIN
SUNDAY NIGHT...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER LATE THIS EVENING AND
OVERNIGHT ACROSS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI AND MUCH OF SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...WHILE A SLIGHT RISK EXISTS FOR SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND
WEST KENTUCKY OVERNIGHT. AS EARLY AS 9 PM THIS EVENING...SEVERE STORMS MAY
BEGIN TO MOVE NORTHEAST ACROSS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI INTO SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.
VERY LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT...BUT DAMAGING WINDS
AND A FEW TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THE STORMS WILL SPREAD
EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND WEST KENTUCKY AFTER
MIDNIGHT...BUT THE COVERAGE OF SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO
DECREASE WITH TIME OVERNIGHT. HEAVY RAINS WITH THE STORMS WILL
ALSO AGGRAVATE EXISTING FLOODING PROBLEMS THROUGHOUT THE REGION. A
FLOOD WATCH IS ALSO IN EFFECT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER THROUGHOUT THE FOUR
STATE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT. CLUSTERS OF SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
MOVE NORTHEAST INTO THE REGION LATE IN THE EVENING AND OVERSPREAD
THE ENTIRE AREA OVERNIGHT. DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY
THREAT...AS THE STORM CLUSTERS MOVE THROUGH THE REGION. SOME LARGE
HAIL AND AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT. ONCE
AGAIN...HEAVY RAINFALL WILL AGGRAVATE EXISTING FLOOD PROBLEMS
THROUGHOUT THE REGION. A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY
NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR ACTIVATION LATE THIS EVENING AND
OVERNIGHT TONIGHT...AND AGAIN LATE SUNDAY EVENING AND OVERNIGHT
SUNDAY NIGHT. SPOTTERS ARE URGED TO REPORT ANY FLOODING PROBLEMS
THEY ENCOUNTER...AS WELL AS ANY SEVERE WEATHER.

DRS

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Wabash

When: March 11, 1:00 PM CST to March 26, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Wabash County, Mt Carmel
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.417, -87.767

Flood, White

When: March 11, 1:00 PM CST to March 26, 6:00 PM CST
Where: White County, Maunie
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 38.033, -88.050

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, March 2006

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: 5493809, 5493810.