Flood in Illinois, October 23, 2009

Name: Flood in Illinois, October 23, 2009
Start: 2009-10-23T05:00
End: 2009-10-23T05:00
Location: Illinois

October 23, 2009 · NWS ILX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An intensifying, slow moving area of low pressure moved into central Illinois from late on October 22 into October 23. The result was a prolonged period of heavy rain on already saturated ground.

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: $50,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 ILX wrote it up.

An intensifying, slow moving area of low pressure moved into central Illinois from late on October 22 into October 23. The result was a prolonged period of heavy rain on already saturated ground. Rainfall amounts in a 24 to 30 hour period ranged from 2.00 to 3.50 inches of rain. The heavy rain and saturated ground caused significant damage to a road in DeWitt 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 Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 23, 1:31 AM CST, 3 hours 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 23, 1:31 AM CST, 3 hours 29 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 23, 4:40 AM CST, 20 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 23, 3:17 AM CST, 1 hour 43 minutes before

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Local storm report, Oct 23, 3:57 AM CST, 1 hour 3 minutes before

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Local storm report, Oct 23, 4:07 AM CST, 53 minutes before

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Local storm report, Oct 23, 4:55 AM CST, 5 minutes before

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Local storm report, Oct 23, 4:58 AM CST, 2 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, De Witt

When: October 23, 5:00 AM CST
Where: De Witt County, 3.42 mi NW of Wapella to 3.08 mi NW of Wapella
Cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 40.252, -89.019

Heavy rainfall around 3.00 inches in a 24 hour period, on already saturated ground, caused a portion of Sumpter Road, just south of its intersection with Carle Springs Road, to wash out. Standing water over the road hid the damage to the road. A truck trying to cross the water covered road fell into the hole created by washed out surface. The driver was not injured.

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 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, October 2009

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: 199976.