Two slow-moving cold fronts affected southern Illinois. The first front on the 11th and 12th caused torrential downpours and training storms.
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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.
Two slow-moving cold fronts affected southern Illinois. The first front on the 11th and 12th caused torrential downpours and training storms. The other slow-moving front brought scattered thunderstorms from the 15th to the 17th. The heavy rainfall sent the Big Muddy River above flood stage.
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 Jul 15, 5:54 AM CST, 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 654 AM CDT WED JUL 15 2009 .UPDATE... WILL BE UPDATING PUBLIC PRODUCTS TO ACCOUNT FOR SOLID BAND OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS JUST ABOUT TO ENTER SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. CURRENT FEELING IS THAT THIS AREA WILL CONTINUE EAST SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE EVANSVILLE TRI STATE THIS MORNING. IT WILL LIKELY WEAKEN AS IT DOES SO...AND MAY BECOME ORIENTED MORE EAST TO WEST ACROSS THE AREA. THIS AFTERNOON EXPECT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP ON THE SOUTHERN AND SOUTHWESTERN PERIPHERY OF THIS MORNINGS SYSTEM. COULD SEE THIS DEVELOPMENT AS EARLY AS NOON...ESPECIALLY IF WE CAN GET SOME DECENT HEATING. ALSO UPDATED AVIATION SECTION FOR 12Z TAF ISSUANCE. && .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 342 AM CDT WED JUL 15 2009/ MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS ARE SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM CHANCES TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY. MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW A COLD FRONT MOVING SLOWLY SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE PAH FORECAST AREA TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY NIGHT. GFS HAS BEEN INCONSISTENT ON QPF AREAS AND BULLSEYES...WHILE NAM AND SREF HAVE BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT AND ARE IN DECENT AGREEMENT WITH EACH OTHER. MAIN DIFFERENCE IN THE NAM AND SREF IS THE NAM DRIES THINGS OUT TONIGHT...THEN REGENERATES PRECIP ON THURSDAY. OVERALL PREFER THE SREF SOLUTION...WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING/MOVING INTO THE PAH FORECAST AREA FROM NORTH TO SOUTH TODAY INTO THIS EVENING...THEN THE QPF FOCUSING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE FA LATE TONIGHT. WENT WITH INCREASING POPS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH TODAY...WITH ENTIRE FA IN THE HIGH CHANCE CATEGORY BY THIS AFTERNOON. FOR TONIGHT...WENT WITH HIGH CHANCE POPS NORTH TO LIKELY POPS SOUTH WITH THE FRONT LOCATED ALONG THE OHIO RIVER BY 12Z THURSDAY. SREF STALLS THE FRONT OUT A LITTLE BIT ACROSS OUR REGION DURING THE DAY THURSDAY...AND CONTINUED LIKELY POPS ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE REGION TAPERING TO SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ACROSS OUR NORTHERN COUNTIES. THE FRONT WILL MOVE SLOWLY SOUTHEAST THURSDAY NIGHT...AND KEPT CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA THROUGH THE NIGHT WITH HIGHEST POPS SOUTH. SREF SHOWS THE FRONT JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE FA BY 12Z FRIDAY...AND KEPT SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ACROSS SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE FA IN THE MORNING FOR THE POSSIBILITY FOR SOME LINGERING POST FRONTAL SHOWERS AND STORMS. CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE REGION BEHIND THE COLD FRONT FOR LATE FRIDAY AND THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THIS WILL BRING IN SOME UNUSUALLY COOLER AND DRIER AIR INTO THE REGION. TEMPS WILL BE 8 TO 12 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE 50S...PROVIDING A BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND THOUGH MAYBE TOO COOL FOR SWIMMING. FOR NEAR TERM TEMPS...MAV AND MET ARE IN VERY CLOSE AGREEMENT AND STAYED CLOSE TO GUIDANCE VALUES. IN THE EXTENDED...TWEAKED DOWN TEMPS A LITTLE MORE OVER THE WEEKEND BASED ON MEX CONTINUING TO TREND JUST A LITTLE COOLER. STILL STAYED A DEGREE OR TWO ABOVE MEX VALUES OVERALL. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PREVAIL OUTSIDE OF CONVECTION TODAY. THERE IS SOME POTENTIAL FOR MVFR FOG TO DEVELOP LATE TONIGHT. THIS WILL BE MOST LIKELY IN AREAS THAT RECEIVE SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL TODAY. SEE THE UPDATE SECTION OF THIS DISCUSSION FOR CURRENT THOUGHTS ON CONVECTIVE TIMING/LOCATION TODAY. DECIDED TO GO WITH EXPLICIT THUNDER AT KEVV AND KOWB LATE THIS MORNING...AND JUST A VCTS AT KCGI AND KPAH...WHERE DEVELOPMENT WILL BE MORE SCATTERED AND DIFFICULT TO TIME. AM NOT CURRENTLY EXPECTING ANY CONVECTION AT THE TAF SITES TONIGHT...HOWEVER...CANNOT COMPLETELY RULE IT OUT...ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTHEAST MISSOURI LATE. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && SHORT TERM/LONG TERM...DRS/RST AVIATION...DRS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 459 AM CDT WED JUL 15 2009 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-161000- 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- 459 AM CDT WED JUL 15 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE ENTIRE QUAD STATE REGION TODAY...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. THE MAIN HAZARD WITH ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS...THOUGH LARGE HAIL AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY AFTERNOON INTO EARLY THURSDAY EVENING ACROSS WEST KENTUCKY...SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...AND AREAS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM CARBONDALE ILLINOIS...TO ELDORADO...TO MOUNT VERNON INDIANA...TO DALE. THE MAIN HAZARD WITH ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL AGAIN BE DAMAGING WINDS...BUT LARGE HAIL AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE LATE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF THE QUAD STATE. SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TODAY INTO THIS EVENING...AND AGAIN THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EARLY THURSDAY EVENING. RST
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding occurred on the Big Muddy River. At the Murphysboro gage, the river crested at 24.63 feet on the 17th. Flood stage is 22 feet. Some low-lying fields and parklands in the flood plain were flooded.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, July 2009
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: 179127.