Minor flooding occurred along several rivers in southern Illinois. The rivers rose above flood stage in response to the heavy rain event on the 12th and 13th, followed by some lighter wintry precipitation events during the middle of the month.
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.
Minor flooding occurred along several rivers in southern Illinois. The rivers rose above flood stage in response to the heavy rain event on the 12th and 13th, followed by some lighter wintry precipitation events during 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 Jan 17, 5:43 AM CST, 3 hours 17 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 543 AM CST THU JAN 17 2013 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 543 AM CST THU JAN 17 2013 THE AVIATION SECTION HAS BEEN UPDATED FOR THE 12Z TAF ISSUANCE. && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY) ISSUED AT 337 AM CST THU JAN 17 2013 THE UPPER LOW IS MOVING EASTWARD THROUGH LOUISIANA AT THIS TIME...AND WILL BE WELL SOUTHEAST OF OUR REGION BY THE END OF THE DAY. THE ASSOCIATED HIGH CLOUD SHIELD IS JUST ABOUT TO CLEAR OUR EASTERN COUNTIES...BUT CLOUDS IN THE 4-5KFT LAYER ARE ALREADY MOVING BACK IN FROM THE NORTHWEST. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE DAY...AS THE STORM SYSTEM PUSHES FARTHER AWAY. SO GUSTY NORTH WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED. NOT SURE HOW PREVALENT THE 4-5KFT CLOUDS WILL BE...BUT GUIDANCE HINTS AT THE BEST COVERAGE AROUND MIDDAY...WITH A GOOD CLEARING TREND THROUGH THE LAST HALF OF THE AFTERNOON. CONSENSUS OF GUIDANCE LOOKS GOOD ADVERTISING A MODEST WARM UP TO NEAR NORMAL LEVELS. THE MODELS AGREE THAT SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRIEFLY SETTLE OVER THE REGION AROUND 12Z FRIDAY BEFORE QUICKLY SHIFTING TO THE SOUTH OF THE AREA FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. A VERY STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL DEVELOP FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...BETWEEN THE HIGH TO OUR SOUTH AND A COLD FRONT APPROACHING THE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST LATE SATURDAY. WINDS WILL BRIEFLY DIE OFF LATE TONIGHT...SO GOOD RADIATIONAL COOLING IS EXPECTED FOR AT LEAST A FEW HOURS. CONSENSUS OF GUIDANCE SEEMS REASONABLE...WITH MOST LOWS AROUND 20. SOUTH WINDS WILL PICK UP A BIT ON FRIDAY ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTH...BUT THEY WILL STAY UP THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT AND INCREASE SOME MORE ON SATURDAY. SOME GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE SATURDAY. AS FOR TEMPERATURES...STAYED CLOSE TO CONSENSUS ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...BUT WITH PERSISTENT WINDS EXPECTED...LEANED CLOSER TO THE MILDER MET GUIDANCE FRIDAY NIGHT. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY) ISSUED AT 337 AM CST THU JAN 17 2013 DOMINATING THE LONG TERM PATTERN WILL BE AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE ANCHORED OVER THE WEST...WITH A TROUGH IMPACTING THE EASTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE NATION. THIS WILL RESULT IN PREDOMINANT NORTHWEST FLOW AND UNSEASONABLY COLD TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD. TWO COLD FRONTAL PASSAGES ARE STILL FORECAST TO PLUNGE THE REGION DEEPER INTO ARCTIC AIR. THE FIRST FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. THIS WILL BEGIN THE DROP IN TEMPERATURES...WHICH WILL ONLY MAGNIFY WITH THE SECOND FRONTAL PASSAGE EARLY MONDAY. AT THIS POINT...BOTH FRONTAL PASSAGES APPEAR TO BE FREE OF PRECIPITATION AS THE AIR ACCOMPANYING THE ARCTIC PLUNGE WILL BE INCREDIBLY DRY. THERE IS SOME UNCERTAINTY AS TO HOW COLD THE MODIFIED ARCTIC AIR MASS WILL BE BY THE TIME IT ARRIVES...AND MUCH OF THIS WILL DEPEND ON THE ORIENTATION OF THE SURFACE RIDGE AXIS. AT THIS POINT...THE GFS IS THE FURTHEST EAST WITH THE RIDGE...THE GEM THE FURTHEST WEST...WITH THE ECMWF A GOOD COMPROMISE. AS A RESULT...LONG TERM TEMPERATURES ARE REFLECTIVE OF A GUIDANCE BLEND...WEIGHTED SLIGHTLY IN FAVOR OF THE ECMWF. MONDAY AND TUESDAY PROMISE TO BE THE COLDEST DAYS AS HIGHS ONLY REACH THE 20S OVER MOST OF THE AREA. THE COLDEST MORNING WILL BE TUESDAY...WITH LOWS 10 TO 15. A LACK OF SNOW COVER SHOULD TEND TO KEEP TEMPERATURES FROM PLUMMETING ANY FURTHER. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z THURSDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 343 AM CST THU JAN 17 2013 NOT SURE HOW PERSISTENT LOW VFR CEILINGS WILL BE ACROSS THE TERMINALS THIS MORNING...BUT CANNOT RULE OUT A FEW HOURS OF CEILINGS. LOOKING AT SATELLITE IMAGERY OVER NORTHERN MISSOURI AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...SOME SCATTERED TO BROKEN MVFR CLOUDS ARE PUSHING SOUTH TOWARD THE AREA. GUIDANCE HINTS AT A POTENTIAL CEILING IN THE 1.5-2KFT LAYER OVER ALL SITES AROUND 18Z. GIVEN THE SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN SOLID LOOK OF THIS LAYER UPSTREAM...MENTIONED A SCATTERED DECK AT THAT LEVEL...BUT KEPT THE CEILINGS VFR. THE CLOUDS SHOULD RAPIDLY PUSH EAST OF THE AREA LATER THIS AFTERNOON...LEAVING CLEAR SKIES FOR TONIGHT. NORTH WINDS WILL BE OCCASIONALLY GUSTY THROUGH THE DAY AT ALL SITES. THEY WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE THROUGH THE EVENING AND BECOME CALM TOWARD DAYBREAK FRIDAY. NOT LIKELY TO SEE ANY FOG DEVELOPMENT LATE IN THE PERIOD...BUT CANNOT COMPLETELY RULE OUT SOME MVFR CONDITIONS. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...NONE. MO...NONE. IN...NONE. KY...NONE. && UPDATE...DRS SHORT TERM...DRS LONG TERM....RP AVIATION...DRS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 359 AM CST THU JAN 17 2013 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-181100- 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- 359 AM CST THU JAN 17 2013 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. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY VERY COLD AIR WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION MONDAY AND TUESDAY. NORTH WINDS MONDAY NIGHT WILL CREATE WIND CHILLS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS ACROSS MUCH OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND THE PENNYRILE REGION OF WEST KENTUCKY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. DRS
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River near Grand Chain. Some low-lying parks and woodlands near the river were underwater.
Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River near Shawneetown. Some low-lying fields and woodlands near the river were underwater.
Minor flooding occurred along the Wabash River near Mt. Carmel. Some low-lying parks and woodlands near the river were underwater.
Minor flooding occurred along the Big Muddy River near Murphysboro. Some low-lying parks and woodlands near the river were underwater.
Minor flooding occurred along the Little Wabash River near Carmi. Some low-lying parks and woodlands near the river were underwater.
Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River near Brookport. Some low-lying parks and woodlands near the river were underwater.
Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River near Cairo. Some low-lying parks and woodlands near the river were underwater.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, January 2013
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: 429261, 429273, 429274, 429275, 429276, 429267, 429257.