Flooding of the Wabash, Little Wabash, and Big Muddy Rivers continued from April well into May. The flooding on the Big Muddy River was due to a combination of heavy rain and backwater from the Mississippi 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.
Flooding of the Wabash, Little Wabash, and Big Muddy Rivers continued from April well into May. The flooding on the Big Muddy River was due to a combination of heavy rain and backwater from the Mississippi River. Heavy rainfall during the first week of May caused the Little Wabash to remain above flood stage. The Wabash River remained above flood stage due to a continuation of the very wet and cool spring pattern.
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 Apr 30, 10:29 PM CST, 1 hour 31 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 1129 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 1129 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013 THE AVIATION SECTION HAS BEEN UPDATED FOR THE 06Z TAF ISSUANCE. && .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 307 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013 ECMWF AND NAM SHOW AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE HOLDING OFF ANY PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI AND LOWER OHIO VALLEYS THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. GFS AND SREF TRY TO SNEAK SOME QPF MAINLY INTO SOUTHEAST MISSOURI LATE WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT AHEAD OF OUR NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM. PREFER TO LEAN TOWARD THE DRIER SOLUTIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT OVER THE LAST FEW RUNS. KEPT ANY POPS OUT OF THE FORECAST THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN 5 TO 10 DEGREES ABOVE SEASONAL NORMALS AS WINDS REMAIN SOUTHERLY. .LONG TERM...(THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY) ISSUED AT 307 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013 THE LONG TERM WILL CONTINUE TO BE WEIGHTED STRONGLY TOWARD CURRENT AND PRIOR RUNS OF THE ECMWF DETERMINISTIC AND ENSEMBLE MEAN SOLUTIONS. THE 12Z CMC HAS TRENDED BACK TOWARD THE ECMWF. THE GFS CONTINUES TO SUGGEST A FARTHER SOUTH SOLUTION AND LITTLE WEIGHT WILL BE GIVEN IT AT THIS TIME. AGAIN LATEST ANALOGS SUGGEST IT IS A BIT TOO FAR SOUTH BASED ON PAST HISTORY. CLUSTERING FAVORED SOLUTIONS OF THE PAST FEW DAYS SUGGESTS THE H5 LOW TRACK WILL BE FROM AROUND ECNTRL/CNTRL KS 12Z FRI TO WCNTRL MO 12Z SAT...SRN IA 12Z SUNDAY AND OVER CNTRL LAKE MI BY 12Z MON. CHANCE OF CONVECTION WILL INCREASE GRADUALLY FROM WEST TO EAST THURSDAY WITH BEST CHANCES THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...SHIFTING TO OUR EASTERN COUNTIES SATURDAY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS THE MAIN CONCERN WITH THIS SYSTEM. FORECAST PRECIP WATER VALUES APPROACH 1.5 INCHES AND REACHES THE 90TH PERCENTILE. MODEL PROJECTIONS ARE GENERALLY 1 TO 2 INCHES AREA WIDE...WITH LOCALLY 3-4 INCHES POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY CNTRL AND WEST SECTIONS OF THE CWFA. WE STILL THINK THE AREA WILL EVENTUALLY BE DRY SLOTTED TO SOME DEGREE SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT...ESPECIALLY OVER THE SW/W 1/2 OF THE AREA. FROM SUNDAY AND BEYOND...KEPT OUR LOW CONFIDENCE LOW OR SLIGHT CHANCE POPS GOING GIVEN THE PROGRESSIVE UNSETTLED LOOK TO THE PATTERN SOUTH OF THE DEPARTING LOW TO OUR NORTH. CHANCE OF PRECIP SUNDAY WILL PROBABLY BE DEPENDENT ON HOW FAR SOUTH THE H5 LOW IS AND LINGERS BEFORE HEADING NORTH. IT COULD END UP BEING BASICALLY DRY SUNDAY AS WELL. TEMPERATURES WERE A BLEND OF PREVIOUS NUMBERS AND THE LATEST OUTPUT FROM THE ECE AND ECMWF. && .AVIATION... ISSUED AT 1129 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013 HAVING SOME ISSUES WITH OUR GUIDANCE THIS EVENING...SO WILL KEEP THE FORECAST VERY SIMPLE AND VFR. DESPITE CLEAR AND NEARLY CALM CONDITIONS...SEE NO SIGNAL FOR FOG FORMATION TONIGHT. LIGHT SOUTHEAST WINDS OVERNIGHT WILL PICK UP TO AROUND 8KTS...AND VEER TO SOUTH SOUTHEAST DURING THE DAY. THE SOUTHEAST FLOW WILL BRING SOME INCREASE IN MOISTURE IN THE 4-6KFT LAYER. WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE A PERIODIC CEILING AT KPAH OR KCGI WEDNESDAY...AND AN ISOLATED SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM CANNOT BE COMPLETLY RULED OUT IN THE AFTERNOON OR EVENING. CONFIDENCE IN A CEILING OR SHRA/TSRA IS TOO LOW TO MENTION IN THE TAFS AT THIS TIME. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...NONE. MO...NONE. IN...NONE. KY...NONE. && UPDATE...DRS SHORT TERM...RST LONG TERM...CN AVIATION...DRS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 330 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013 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- 330 PM CDT TUE APR 30 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. FLOODING ON SOME AREA RIVERS CONTINUES. PLEASE REFER TO THE RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE FROM LATE THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT OR EARLY SATURDAY. 1 TO 2 INCHES OF RAINFALL APPEARS LIKELY. ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF 3 OR 4 INCHES CANNOT BE RULED OUT...ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...FAR WEST KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. FLOODING ON SOME AREA RIVERS WILL CONTINUE. PLEASE REFER TO THE RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding continued on the Big Muddy River from April. Low-lying fields and woodlands were under water, including some riverside park land and river access roads.
Minor flooding continued from April into May on the Little Wabash River. Low-lying fields and woodlands were under water, along with some parks and river access roads.
The flooded Wabash River continued to recede after cresting in late April. Some low-lying fields and woodlands remained under water.
The flooded Wabash River continued to recede after cresting in late April. Moderate flooding occurred along the Wabash River around Mt. Carmel. The crest of 30.24 feet on April 28 was the 13th highest crest in records dating back to the late 1800's.
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, May 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: 449409, 449410, 449411, 449412.