In addition to above normal rainfall and snowmelt across upstream portions of the Mississippi River Basin, two storm systems brought locally over 2 inches of rainfall to southeast Missouri on March 24-25th, and March 28th, respectively. This was enough to keep river levels above flood stage at Cape Girardeau into early April.
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.
In addition to above normal rainfall and snowmelt across upstream portions of the Mississippi River Basin, two storm systems brought locally over 2 inches of rainfall to southeast Missouri on March 24-25th, and March 28th, respectively. This was enough to keep river levels above flood stage at Cape Girardeau into early April.
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 Mar 31, 10:39 PM CST, 1 hour 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 1139 PM CDT TUE MAR 31 2009 .UPDATE... UPDATED AVIATION SECTION FOR 06Z TAF ISSUANCE. && .DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 300 PM CDT TUE MAR 31 2009/ CLEARING LINE IS CURRENTLY MOVING QUICKLY FROM EAST TO WEST ACROSS THE PAH FORECAST AREA...AND EXPECT IT TO MOVE EAST OF OUR AREA BY 00Z. CLEAR SKIES ARE EXPECTED OVERNIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS TO OUR SOUTH. WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHT SOUTHWEST BY LATE TONIGHT AS THE HIGH MOVES TO OUR EAST. DRY AND MILD CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY NIGHT AHEAD OF OUR NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM. NAM...GFS AND ECMWF ALL SHOW A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER OKLAHOMA 12Z THURSDAY. NAM TAKES THE LOW RIGHT ALONG THE NORTHWEST BORDER OF THE PAH FA. THE GFS AND ECMWF TAKE THE LOW UP THE OHIO RIVER...WITH THE GFS A LITTLE FASTER THAN THE ECMWF. OVERALL SCENARIO LEADS TO PRECIP SPREADING ACROSS THE FA THURSDAY...ENDING FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST THURSDAY NIGHT. WENT WITH SHOWERS LIKELY WITH A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE DAY THURSDAY WITH ALL THREE MODELS SHOWING LIS AROUND OR JUST BELOW ZERO ACROSS MUCH OF THE FA. FOR THURSDAY NIGHT...ALL THREE MODELS SHOW FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT QPF WITH THE WRAP AROUND MOISTURE ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE LOW. CONTINUED LIKELY POPS FOR SHOWERS INTO THURSDAY EVENING...WITH LOW CHANCE POPS SOUTHWEST TO LIKELY POPS NORTHEAST AFTER MIDNIGHT. ANY THUNDER CHANCES WILL BE EAST OF OUR REGION BY THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. ON FRIDAY...HIGH PRESSURE WILL AGAIN SLIDE TO OUR SOUTH...KEEPING OUR ARE DRY AND MILD THROUGH SATURDAY. GFS AND ECMWF SHOW ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER NORTHEAST KANSAS/SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA BY 12Z SUNDAY...THEN OVER CENTRAL ILLINOIS BY 00Z MONDAY. THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE FA SUNDAY INTO SUNDAY EVENING...SPREADING SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM CHANCES ACROSS THE AREA LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING. THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY SUNDAY WITH GFS AND ECMWF BOTH SHOWING LIS IN THE 0 TO -4 RANGE. AFTER 00Z MONDAY...CONTINUED CHANCE POPS FOR JUST SHOWERS...ENDING FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST LATE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. BEHIND EACH SYSTEM...THERE WILL BE A TEMPORARY COOL DOWN...BUT NO SIGNIFICANTLY COLDER TEMPS. FOR NEAR TERM TEMPS...USED A MAV/MET COMPROMISE...LEANING A LITTLE MORE TOWARD THE SLIGHTLY COOLER MET LOWS. IN THE EXTENDED...WENT NEAR TO A LITTLE BELOW LATEST MEX VALUES THROUGH THE WEEKEND...BUT WENT SEVERAL DEGREES COOLER EARLY NEXT WEEK...ESPECIALLY ON HIGH TEMPS. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. SURFACE PRESSURE CENTERED TO OUR SOUTH TONIGHT WILL BUILD EAST...ALLOWING WINDS TO BACK AROUND TO THE SOUTH BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. AS OUR NEXT STORM SYSTEM TAKES SHAPE OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WEDNESDAY EVENING...HIGH CLOUDS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE...AND WINDS WILL BACK FURTHER AROUND TO THE EAST OR SOUTHEAST. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && PUBLIC.....RST AVIATION...DRS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 327 AM CDT TUE MAR 31 2009 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-010830- 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- 327 AM CDT TUE MAR 31 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY AS A COLD FRONT ADVANCES ACROSS THE REGION. STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO REACH SEVERE LEVELS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE ON THURSDAY...THEN AGAIN NEXT SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY. AT THIS TIME...STORMS DURING THESE PERIODS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO REACH SEVERE LEVELS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. JP
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding occurred along the Mississippi River, affecting low-lying bottomland fields. At the Cape Girardeau gage, the river crested at 33.41 feet on the 2nd. Flood stage there is 32 feet.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, April 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: 160099.