Illinois, 2009

Flooding in Illinois, October 31, 2009

October 31, 2009 · NWS PAH · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Widespread heavy rainfall events on the 27th and again on the 29th and 30th resulted in minor flooding of the Big Muddy River.

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.

Widespread heavy rainfall events on the 27th and again on the 29th and 30th resulted in minor flooding of the Big Muddy River.

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 Oct 31, 2:05 AM CST, 6 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 31, 2:05 AM CST, 6 hours 55 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 31, 3:57 AM CST, 5 hours 3 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
457 AM CDT SAT OCT 31 2009

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-011000-
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-
457 AM CDT SAT OCT 31 2009

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.

AREA RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS SHOULD BE REFERRED TO
FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION REGARDING RIVER FLOODING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

AREA RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS SHOULD BE REFERRED TO FOR
THE LATEST INFORMATION REGARDING RIVER FLOODING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

/UPDATED TO INCLUDE MENTION OF RIVER FLOODING/

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 31, 3:18 AM CST, 5 hours 42 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

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Jackson

When
October 31, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Jackson County, 2.09 mi WSW of Murphysboro to 2.19 mi WNW of Mt Carbon
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
River/Stream Gage
Coordinates
37.761, -89.367

Flooding began on the Big Muddy River on the 31st. At the Murphysboro river gage, the river rose above flood stage on the last day of the month and did not crest until November. Some low-lying fields and woods along the river were flooded.

Flood, Alexander

When
October 31, 9:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where
Alexander County, 0.47 mi ENE of Thebes
Cause
Heavy Rain
Reported by
River/Stream Gage
Coordinates
37.222, -89.462

Flooding began on the Mississippi River on the 31th. At the Thebes river gage, the river did not crest until after the end of the month. Water began to flood low-lying fields near the river.

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

More

Every storm in Illinois in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 197702, 197707.