December was among the wettest Decembers of record. River flooding continued for the entire month along portions of the Wabash River.
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.
December was among the wettest Decembers of record. River flooding continued for the entire month along portions of the Wabash River. The heaviest and most widespread rain event of the month occurred on the 4th and 5th, when 3 to 4 inches was common. After nearly ten days with little or no precipitation, significant rain returned to the Wabash basin by the middle of the month.
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 Dec 2, 5:50 AM CST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 550 AM CST FRI DEC 2 2011 .UPDATE... UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION. NO UPDATE TO PUBLIC DISCUSSION. && .DISCUSSION... NEARBY/UPSTREAM DRY COLD FRONT WILL MAKE ENTRANCE/PASSAGE TODAY. HIGH PRESSURE SETTLLING ACROSS OHIO RIVER VALLEY WILL HOLD MOST/BEST MOISTURE WELL TO THE WEST AS THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM TAKES SHAPE. RIDGING UPPER HEIGHTS MEANS ANOTHER 24-48 HOURS OF PLEASANT WEATHER BEFORE TURNING WET. THE WEATHER ENTERS THE FORECAST WITH THE FRONTAL ENTRANCE SATURDAY NIGHT. POPS GO CATEGORICAL AS THE FRONT STALLS BASICALLY OVER THE FA. THIS IS WHERE THE MODELS HAVE DIVERGED BUT THE 00Z DATA SUPPORTS THE EMERGING TREND TO STALL THE SYSTEM THRU THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK...NOT ALTOGETHER DISSIMILAR FROM OUR SYSTEM LAST WEEK INTO THE FIRST PART OF THIS WEEK. HIGH PW'S JUST TO OUR SOUTH/EAST ADVECT INTO/ACROSS PAH FA...ESP OUR SERN 1/3 FA MAINLY WKY (PENNYRILE). STORM TOTAL QPF FROM 00Z SUN-00Z THU YIELDS SWATH OF 1" (NW PTNS FA) TO 3" (SE PTNS FA). WE'LL FOLLOW SUITE WITH OUR NEIGHBORS (LMK/OHX) AND ISSUE STATEMENT ON RAIN POTENTIAL FOR MAINLY PENNYRILE WKY. && .AVIATION... MID CLOUDS ASSOCIATED WITH A DRY COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO QUICKLY MOVE EWD INTO THE QUAD STATE REGION THIS MORNING. EXCEPT PERHAPS FOR THE PENNYRILE REGION OF KY...THE FRONT WILL CAUSE A BRIEF WIND SHIFT TO THE NW BEFORE WINDS VEER TOWARD THE EAST...THEN SE TONIGHT. WIND VELOCITIES SHOULD STAY GENERALLY BELOW 6 KTS THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 313 AM CST FRI DEC 2 2011 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-031100- 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- 313 AM CST FRI DEC 2 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY...AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT MINOR RIVER FLOODING CONTINUES...REFER TO THE FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL IS FORECAST FROM SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS SHOULD BE ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE OHIO RIVER...WHERE 2 TO 3 INCHES ARE EXPECTED...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE PENNYRILE REGION OF WESTERN KENTUCKY. REFER TO THE HYDROLOGIC STATEMENT FOR MORE DETAILS. THERE COULD BE A CHANGE OVER FROM RAIN...TO A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW...THEN LIGHT SNOW MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS COLDER AIR IS FORECAST TO SLOWLY WORK INTO THE AREA. AT THIS TIME...CONFIDENCE IS LOW IN KNOWING WHEN THE CHANGE OVER MIGHT OCCUR AND HOW LONG IT MAY LAST. IMPACT ACCUMULATIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME GIVEN LOW FORECAST CONFIDENCE. MINOR RIVER FLOODING IS FORECAST...REFERENCE THE WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding occurred along the Wabash River. Several local river roads were flooded. Low-lying fields near the river were flooded.
Minor flooding occurred along the Wabash River in the Mount Carmel area. Water began to flow over River Road just north of Fifth Street in the Mount Carmel area. |Fifth Street that parallels the river was closed. A restaurant along the river also closed. Several local river roads were flooded, a few of which were closed. All oil field production ceased with the exception of pumping units on substructures. Access to these was by boat only. Many river cabins became inaccessible.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, December 2011
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: 356474, 356479.