Heavy Rain, Madison
- When
- May 16, 1:20 AM EST to 4:20 AM EST
- Where
- Madison County, Madison
- Reported by
- Broadcast Media
- Coordinates
- 30.470, -83.400
Nearly six inches of rain was observed in Madison.
Flood and Heavy Rain in Florida, May 16, 2008
Slow moving thunderstorms deposited up to six inches of rain within a three-hour period, which produced areal flooding throughout Madison County.
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
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 TAE wrote it up.
Slow moving thunderstorms deposited up to six inches of rain within a three-hour period, which produced areal flooding throughout Madison County.
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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 15, 8:10 PM EST, 5 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 15, 8:10 PM EST, 5 hours 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL 910 PM EDT THU MAY 15 2008 .DISCUSSION...WAS INITIALLY CONCERNED ABOUT CARRYING SUCH HIGH POPS OVERNIGHT. HOWEVER...WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE REDEVELOP OF SHOWERS OVER THE PANHANDLE COASTAL WATERS AND MOVING INLAND JUST AS THE GFS IS FORECASTING. MAY TRIM BACK PERCENTAGES SLIGHTLY AND MENTION ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AS CONVECTION IS LOW TOPPED. && .MARINE...AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT WILL KEEP WINDS HOVERING AT OR JUST BELOW EXERCISE CAUTION LEVELS THROUGH FRIDAY. && .AVIATION...THE SQUALL LINE THAT PASSED THROUGH THE WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE CWA THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON BECAME INCREASINGLY DISORGANIZED AS IT TRAVELED INTO THE EASTERN BIG BEND AND SOUTH CENTRAL GEORGIA. THUS...THE VAST MAJORITY OF RAINFALL OCCURRED AT WESTERN SITES WHICH RECEIVED BETWEEN AROUND A TENTH AND A QUARTER OF AN INCH. WITH SOUTHERLY FLOW INCREASING LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE EVEN AT TERMINALS WITH VERY LITTLE PRECIP...INCLUDED TEMPOS FOR MVFR VSBYS AT ALL SITES FOR THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. MVFR CIGS WILL ALSO PREVAIL AT ALL SITES FOR MOST OF THE PERIOD...AND REDUCTIONS IN VSBY MAY ALSO OCCUR DURING THE AFTERNOON ON FRIDAY AS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE. && .TAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AL...NONE. GA...NONE. FL...NONE. GM...NONE. && BARRY/GOULD/RUBIO
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Madison
- When
- May 16, 2:30 PM EST to 4:30 PM EST
- Where
- Madison County, 2.32 mi W of Madison to 0.97 mi WSW of Madison
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 30.476, -83.438
Four to six inches of rain caused areal flooding throughout much of Madison County. High water on US Highway 90 closed all but one lane in front of the Winn Dixie in Madison. Flooding was also reported near North Florida Community College.
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- 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
- Dense Fog in Wisconsin, May 16 to 17, 2008
- Damaging Winds in Texas, May 16, 2008
- Flooding in Idaho, May 16 to 31, 2008
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Gulf of Mexico, May 16, 2008
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, May 16, 2008
- Flooding in Illinois, May 16 to 25, 2008
- Flash Flooding in Alabama, May 16, 2008
- Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, May 16, 2008
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, May 16, 2008
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Lake Superior, May 16, 2008
- Flood in Washington, May 16 to 21, 2008
More
Every storm in Florida in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Florida, May 2008
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: 98920, 98912.