An extended period of minor flooding occurred near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers as flood crests came down both rivers. The flood crest on the Mississippi River affected the Cairo river gage about mid-month, then the Ohio River flood crest occurred several days later.
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.
An extended period of minor flooding occurred near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers as flood crests came down both rivers. The flood crest on the Mississippi River affected the Cairo river gage about mid-month, then the Ohio River flood crest occurred several days later.
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 14, 5:27 AM CST, 2 hours 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 627 AM CDT THU MAR 14 2013 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 621 AM CDT THU MAR 14 2013 UPDATED THE AVIATION SECTION FOR THE 12Z TAF ISSUANCE. && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY) ISSUED AT 223 AM CDT THU MAR 14 2013 A RIPPLE OF ENERGY DIVING SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON MAY GENERATE LIGHT PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE NORTHEAST HALF OF OUR CWA...BUT MODELS ARE NOT IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THIS FEATURE. THE GFS IS THE MOST AGRESSIVE IN REGARD TO COVERAGE AND QPF WITH THE NAM12 BEING THE LEAST...SO SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE WHICH LOOKS MORE SIMILAR TO THE SREF. EITHER WAY...AREAS GENERALLY SOUTH AND WEST OF A LINE FROM MOUNT VERNON ILLINOIS TO HOPKINSVILLE KENTUCKY SHOULD REMAIN DRY AND SEE NO MORE THAN AN INCREASE IN CLOUD COVERAGE. HIGH PRESSURE SHOULD KEEP THE REGION DRY TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. PRECIPITATION CHANCES MAKE THEIR WAY BACK INTO THE FORECAST FRIDAY NIGHT AS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY SAGS SOUTHEAST INTO THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY. AREAS MOST AFFECTED FRIDAY NIGHT SHOULD BE THE NORTHEAST HALF OF THE CWA. MODELS ARE SHOWING ELEVATED INSTABILITY SO KEPT THE MENTION OF THUNDER. ON SATURDAY AS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY DROPS ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF OUR CWA...PRECIPITATION CHANCES DROP SOUTHWARD WITH IT. AGAIN ELEVATED INSTABILITY IS PRESENT...SO CONTINUED WITH THE MENTION OF THUNDER. TEMPERATURES REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE SHORT TERM WITH FRIDAY BEING THE NICEST DAY AREA WIDE IN MANY MONTHS. .LONG TERM...(SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY) ISSUED AT 223 AM CDT THU MAR 14 2013 THE SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL STALL ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY ON SATURDAY NIGHT...WHILE THE 850 MB FRONT STALLS ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF KENTUCKY AND MISSOURI. MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT SHOWERS WILL BECOME NUMEROUS ALONG THE 850 MB FRONT SATURDAY NIGHT AS A WEAK 500 MB SHORTWAVE MOVES EAST INTO THE PLAINS. THE 850 MB FRONT WILL MOVE BACK NORTH ACROSS THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI ON SUNDAY...AS DEPICTED BY THE 00Z GFS ENSEMBLE MEAN AND ECMWF. ELEVATED INSTABILITY WILL SPREAD NORTH ALONG AND BEHIND THE 850 FRONT. SOME ISOLATED THUNDER IS POSSIBLE STARTING SUNDAY IN THE SOUTH...THEN SPREADING NORTHEAST. THE SURFACE FRONT WILL MOVE BACK NORTH AS A WARM FRONT ON SUNDAY NIGHT. PRECIPITATION WILL BECOME MORE SCATTERED AND MORE CONVECTIVE IN NATURE ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT. INSTABILITY PARAMETERS WILL REMAIN RATHER MARGINAL FOR THUNDER. GIVEN THE LACK OF UPPER SUPPORT AND THE RELATIVELY COOL BOUNDARY LAYER DURING THAT TIME OF DAY...WILL ONLY FORECAST SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDER ON SUNDAY NIGHT. MODEL DISAGREEMENT REMAINS HIGH FOR MONDAY...WHEN A STRONG 500 MB SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE EAST FROM THE NORTHERN PLAINS INTO THE GREAT LAKES REGION. THE ECMWF CONTINUES TO EMPHASIZE A MORE SOUTHERN TRACK OF THE PRIMARY SURFACE LOW...TAKING IT NORTHEAST ALONG THE OHIO RIVER MONDAY. THE 00Z GFS AND GFS ENSEMBLE MEAN TRACK THE SURFACE LOW ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND GREAT LAKES REGION. BOTH MODELS PLACE WESTERN KY IN THE WARM SECTOR...WHERE POPS WILL BE RAISED INTO THE LIKELY CATEGORY AND THUNDER CHANCES WILL BE HIGHEST. ELSEWHERE...WILL KEEP POPS IN THE CHANCE CATEGORY. TEMPS WILL OBVIOUSLY DEPEND ON THE TRACK OF THE LOW AND LOCATION OF THE WARM SECTOR. FOLLOWING THE PASSAGE OF THE LOW AND COLD FRONT MONDAY EVENING...TEMPS WILL COOL DOWN AGAIN TO BELOW NORMAL READINGS FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. THE GFS MOS AGAIN LOOKS A LITTLE TOO WARM BASED ON THE PERSISTENT NEGATIVE NAO THAT FAVORS COLDER THAN NORMAL TEMPS. WILL TREND THE FORECAST A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE ECMWF. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY MORNING) ISSUED AT 621 AM CDT THU MAR 14 2013 VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED AT ALL SITES THROUGH THE PERIOD...HOWEVER AT KEVV/KOWB THERE COULD BE VCSH BETWEEN 18-01Z. WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE SOUTHERLY AOB 10 KTS. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...NONE. MO...NONE. IN...NONE. KY...NONE. && SHORT TERM/AVIATION...JP LONG TERM/FIRE WX...MY
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 344 AM CDT THU MAR 14 2013 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-150845- 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- 344 AM CDT THU MAR 14 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 THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER ALL OR PART OF THE QUAD STATE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE STORMS CANNOT BE RULED OUT ON MONDAY. OTHERWISE...STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SEVERE LEVELS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED ON MONDAY. JP
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River at Cairo. Some low-lying fields and river access roads were underwater, including parts of Fort Defiance State Park.
Minor flooding occurred along the Ohio River at Grand Chain. Some low-lying fields and river access roads 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, March 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: 435605, 435606.