Minor flooding of the Ohio River occurred at some locations. Several cold fronts moved across the region through mid-month.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.
Minor flooding of the Ohio River occurred at some locations. Several cold fronts moved across the region through mid-month. Each front brought scattered storms.
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 May 16, 2:10 PM CST, 4 hours 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 310 PM CDT FRI MAY 16 2008 .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... MAIN CONCERNS ARE SHOWER CHANCES ASSOCIATED WITH IMPULSES IN DEVELOPING NORTHWEST FLOW OVER THE AREA THIS WEEKEND. THE 12Z GFS AND ECMWF ARE IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT IN TIMING IMPULSES THROUGH THE AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE NAM IS A LITTLE OUT OF SYNCH AND WILL NOT BE FOLLOWED FOR THIS FORECAST. THE MODELS INDICATE THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME SHALLOW INSTABILITY DEVELOPING SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE AREA WITH THE LEAD IMPULSE. HOWEVER...WHETHER THERE WILL BE ENOUGH MOISTURE AND LIFT TO REALIZE IT IS IN DOUBT...SO WILL KEEP POPS IN THE 20 TO 30 PERCENT RANGE. WILL KEEP BEST CHANCES IN THE NORTH SATURDAY AFTERNOON...AND IN THE NORTHEAST SATURDAY NIGHT. THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE IN SIMILAR AGREEMENT IN PUSHING THE IMPULSE AND PRECIPITATION SOUTHEAST OF THE AREA BY 12Z SUNDAY. ANOTHER IMPULSE WILL STAY JUST NORTHEAST OF THE AREA LATER IN THE DAY SUNDAY. THE 12Z ECMWF AND GFS NOW ARE KEEPING THE NEXT IMPULSE OUT OF THE AREA UNTIL AFTER 12Z MONDAY. THEREFORE WILL KEEP SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT DRY FOR NOW. ON SUNDAY...MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE A RATHER DEEP MIXED LAYER...WHICH COULD RESULT IN THE MIXING DOWN OF VERY STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS. WITH UNCERTAINTIES IN TIMING CLOUD COVER AND SHOWERS...TEMPERATURES WILL BE CHALLENGING. WITH LIGHT WINDS AND MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES TONIGHT...DECIDED TO GO A BIT BELOW RATHER MILD LOOKING GUIDANCE. WITH DECENT WEST SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW AHEAD OF THE FRONT SATURDAY...AND A GOOD BIT OF SUNSHINE...CONSENSUS GUIDANCE IN THE MID AND UPPER 70S LOOKS GOOD. GENERALLY ACCEPTED THE COOLER NAM FOR SATURDAY NIGHT. WENT WITH THE CONSENSUS OF GUIDANCE FOR HIGHS SUNDAY...AND THEN THE COOLER MAV NUMBERS FOR SUNDAY NIGHT. .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... ON MONDAY...NAM...GFS AND ECMWF ALL SHOW SOME LIGHT QPF ACROSS THE AREA. BY MONDAY NIGHT...GFS AND ECMWF FOCUS ANY LINGERING QPF ACROSS MAINLY THE NORTHEAST HALF OF THE REGION. INCLUDED SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE ENTIRE QUAD STATE FOR MONDAY...AND FOR AREAS ALONG AND EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER MONDAY NIGHT. CONTINUED WITH A DRY FORECAST TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS THE PERSISTENT NORTHWEST FLOW OF THE WEEKEND AND EARLY WORK WEEK WILL FINALLY BREAK DOWN. ON THURSDAY...ECMWF AND GFS INDICATE A WARM FRONT LIFTING NORTH ACROSS THE REGION. ECMWF IS MORE AGGRESSIVE WITH THIS FEATURE...SHOWING DECENT QPF ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA ON THURSDAY. GFS HOLDS OFF PRECIP UNTIL THURSDAY NIGHT. WENT WITH MORE OF A COMPROMISE...AND JUST INCLUDED LOW POPS FOR THE ENTIRE AREA FOR NOW ON THURSDAY WITH THE EXPECTED PASSAGE OF THE WARM FRONT...WITH A LITTLE HIGHER POPS THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. GRADUAL WARM UP EXPECTED THROUGH THE WORK WEEK...ESPECIALLY BY THURSDAY AND FRIDAY SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT. STAYED WITHIN A FEW DEGREES OF THE LATEST MEX GUIDANCE THROUGH MIDWEEK. WENT A LITTLE BELOW THE VERY WARM GUIDANCE FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY FOR NOW...BUT DO EXPECT TEMPS TO BE UNSEASONABLY WARM. && .AVIATION... LITTLE OF CONCERN FOR AVIATION THROUGH SATURDAY. STRATOCU AT 4-6KFT OVER WEST KENTUCKY WILL DISSIPATE BY SUNSET...LEAVING MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT. COULD SEE SOME SCATTERED 5-6KFT CLOUDS OVERNIGHT...BUT THEY WILL INCREASE MORE SIGNIFICANTLY FROM NORTH TO SOUTH SATURDAY BEGINNING AROUND MIDDAY. A FEW SHOWERS WILL BE POSSIBLE NORTH IN THE AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHT SOUTHWEST THIS EVENING...AND THEN PICK UP TO 10 TO 15 KTS FROM THE WEST MID-MORNING SATURDAY. THERE COULD BE SOME GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && .SHORT TERM..DRS .LONG TERM...RST .AVIATION...DRS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 442 AM CDT FRI MAY 16 2008 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-171145- 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- 442 AM CDT FRI MAY 16 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...MINOR TO MODERATE RIVER FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ON PARTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI...WABASH...LITTLE WABASH...AND OHIO RIVERS. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY OTHER THAN A CONTINUATION OF THE AFOREMENTIONED RIVER FLOODING...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Ohio River crested at 43.03 feet on the 20th. Flood stage at Cairo is 40 feet. Minor flooding of bottomland fields occurred.
Minor flooding of the Ohio River occurred. At the Shawneetown gage, the river crested at 35.16 feet on the 20th. Flood stage there is 33 feet. Bottomland fields near the river were flooded.
Minor flooding of the Ohio River occurred. At Grand Chain, the river crested at 42.5 feet. Flood stage there is 42 feet. Bottomland fields along the river were flooded.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, May 2008
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: 98527, 98533, 98530.