— 11 NWS. Service Assessment. Central United States Flooding of June 2008. Dec 2009, p. iv.

— 11 Blanchard tally from State breakouts below.

Illinois ( 1)

— 1 Coles County, June 5. Drowning; male, 72, crossing flooding bridge in his vehicle.[1]

Indiana ( 3)

— 1 Bartholomew Co., ~Nortonsburg, June 7. Drowning; male, 54, after car swept from road.[2]

— 1 Bartholomew Co., Old St. Louis, June 7. Drowning; male, 54, after car swept from road.[3]

— 1 Hendricks Co., near Stilesville, June 7. Drowning; male, 44, after airboat capsized.[4]

— 1 Henry Co., Slow Run Creek, June 6. Drowning; female, 44, driving across flooded bridge.[5]

Iowa ( 2)

—>3 AP. “National Guard Troops Work to Contain Iowa Flood Damage.” 6-16-2008.[6]

— 1 Hamilton County near Kamrar, I-35, June 7-8. Drowning; male, 33, in vehicle.[7]

— 1 Wright Co., near Galt, June 8. Drowning; farmer, 50, sucked into culvert by flood water.[8]

Michigan ( 3)

— 2 Allegan Co. near Castle park and Glenn, June 8, 3 a.m. Drownings; female, 51, male, 17.[9]

— 1 Ottawa Co., Worley Drain Dam, June 7-8. Drowning; farmer, 76, trying to remove boards from dam.[10]

— 1 Ottawa Co., ~Robinson, June 8-10. Drowning; male, tending drainage ditch near driveway.[11]

Minnesota ( 1)

— 1 Freeborn County, June 11. Drowning; male, 52, after driving vehicle into washed out road.[12]

Wisconsin ( 1)

— 1 Waukesha County, June 12. Drowning; male, 67, leaving vehicle engulfed in flood waters.[13]

Narrative Information

NCDC on Illinois June 4-6: “Several episodes of heavy rain from June 2nd through the 4th, and again on the 6th, produced copious amounts of rain and extensive flooding in eastern Illinois which persisted for two weeks. Rainfall totals ranged from 5 to 11 inches between June 2nd and June 6th, with the majority of the rain falling on June 6th. Hundreds of homes and businesses were flooded, and six counties were declared disaster areas with total damages estimated around $3 Million. An elderly man was killed on June 5th in rural Coles County as he attempted to cross a flooded bridge in his vehicle.” (NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flood, Illinois, Coles County, near Paradise and Cooks Mills, June 4-8, 2008.)

NCDC on Indiana, June 3-7: “Massive and historic flash flooding struck central Indiana. The Great Flood of June 2008 was one of Indiana’s costliest natural disasters. Major roads and interstates flooded. Heavy rainfall on May 30th allowed streams and rivers to rise. Additional heavy rainfall on the 3rd and the 4th added to these high levels. Severe weather brought heavy rainfall on the 6th as well. The stage was set for historic flooding in portions of central and southern Indiana. The storms on the 6th exacerbated the situation by laying down a boundary in southern Illinois and southern Indiana. A moist southerly low level jet rode over this boundary for more than 12 hours continually generating showers and thunderstorms. Rainfall of two to nearly eleven inches fell across portions of central and southern Indiana. The impact of the rain was immediate with widespread flash flooding occurring.” (NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Indiana, Bartholomew County, near Old St. Louis, 6-7-2008.)

NCDC on Iowa, June 7-8: “Low pressure developed over Kansas with a strong southerly flow of very moist air streaming into Iowa ahead of it….Precipitable water values soared to 1.6 to 1.9 inches by evening. During the initial phase of the severe event, high winds and hail were reported along the line of thunderstorms that formed from northern into west central Iowa. There were four reports of tornadoes in Worth, Winnebago and Cerro Gordo Counties during the afternoon hours of the 7th. This was with the initial round of storms. One of the tornadoes in Winnebago County destroyed a hog confinement building containing 3500 hogs….The event transitioned into a flooding event overnight, then tornadoes began again during the afternoon of the 8th. A tornado touched down in Taylor County. Windows were blown out of houses there and several trees were twisted and blown down around the house….A stronger tornado was on the ground north to northeast of Ottumwa. A home lost a roof, with a wall of one room partially collapsed by the tornado….

“The event transitioned into a major Flood/Flash Flood event during the evening and early morning hours with many locations reporting 1 to 2 inches of rainfall, and spotty amounts of around 5 inches in just a few hours time. The line moved very little for a period of several hours. During the predawn hours, the line became broad and weakened to generally below severe limits.

“A new round of thunderstorms from Nebraska, which was the southwest part of the extensive line, moved into west central and southwest Iowa. The storm generally remained below severe levels for the most part, but they did produce very heavy rains. Another line of thunderstorms formed/re-intensified along the frontal boundary by the early afternoon hours. Initially, the storms produced strong winds and some small hail. As they moved southeast, several reports of high winds to near 70 MPH and a few reports of tornadoes were received.

“The most significant weather feature with this event was the heavy rainfall. The antecedent soil conditions in Iowa were extremely wet, such that flash flooding was caused by rainfall of an inch or more in an hour, even in rural areas. Heavy rainfall of 3 to 6 inches occurred in a broad swath extending from west central into north central, and parts of central and northeast Iowa. This resulted in widespread flash flooding. Eventually, the rain lead to major to record flooding along many of the rivers in the state. At one point or another, about 40 of the DMX 51 counties in the CWA were under flash flood warning. The situation was very serious over the north central and northeast counties. A levy was breached in the Mason City area as the Winnebago River rose to 3 feet over the record stage. The city was inundated by water. The water treatment plant was under water and non operational, all power was lost to the power grid in the city. The river cut a new channel and changed course into the downtown area. In the New Hartford area, a dam broke on Beaver Creek, resulting in the water level rising 2 feet above the all-time record level. High water along the mainstem Cedar River also caused communities to lose water. Nashua lost water as the water plant became flooded. Flooding along the Shell Rock River resulted in water supply loss in the town of Rockford.

“There was one death that resulted from the flooding. A 33 year old man died as he drove into flood waters in Interstate 35 at mile post 141 in Hamilton. A second death occurred in Wright County as a 50 year old male farmer near Galt was sucked into a culvert by flood waters as he checked the field tiles in his farm field.” (NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Iowa, I-35 near Kamrar, June 7-8, 2008.)

NCDC on Michigan, June 7: “Severe thunderstorms produced several reports of damaging wind gusts and also caused significant flooding. In fact a presidential disaster declaration was issued for Allegan, Barry, Eaton and Ottawa counties.” (NCDC, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Michigan, Ottawa County, 6-7-2008.)

Sources

Associated Press. “National Guard Troops Work to Contain Iowa Flood Damage.” 6-16-2008. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/06/16/national-guard-troops-work-to-contain-iowa-flood-damage.html

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Indiana, Bartholomew County, near Nortonsburg, 6-7-2008. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=120494

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Indiana, Bartholomew County, near Old St. Louis, 6-7-2008. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=120506

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Indiana, Hendricks County near Stilesville, 6-7-2008. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=120492

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Indiana, Henry County, 6-4-2008, 5:00-7:30 EST. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=119936

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Iowa, I-35 near Kamrar, June 7-8, 2008. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=93030

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Iowa, Wright County, 6-8-2008. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=93048

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Michigan, Allegan County near Castle Park and Glenn, 6-7-2008. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=112424

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Michigan, Ottawa County, 6-7-2008. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=118016

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flood, Illinois, Coles County, near Paradise and Cooks Mills, June 4-8, 2008. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=121041

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Flood, Michigan, Ottawa County, near Robinson, June 8-10, 2008. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=118102

National Weather Service, NOAA. Service Assessment. Central United States Flooding of June 2008. Silver Spring, MD: NWS, NOAA, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, December 2009, 104 pages. Accessed 5-19-2016 at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/assessments/pdfs/central_flooding09.pdf

[1] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Flood, Illinois, Coles County, near Paradise and Cooks Mills, June 4-8, 2008. NWS Service Assessment at p. 9, notes the bridge was over the Kaskaskia River, west of the city of Humboldt.

[2] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Indiana, Bartholomew County, near Nortonsburg, 6-7-2008. Notes the “man was driving home from work on County Road 550 North near County Road 475 East when the flooded Haw Creek pushed his vehicle about 300 yards off the road. He was advised to stay in his vehicle, however he tried to walk away. He drowned around 1230 EST…The flood waters swept the man downstream. His body was found on Monday June 9^th at around 1615 EST in a creek bank near County Road 450 North.

[3] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, IN, Bartholomew Co., near Old St. Louis, 6-7-2008. Notes victim’s car was swept off the road near flooded Haw Creek. “He got out of his car and tried to walk back to his house. He then drowned in the flood waters.” Highlighted in yellow in that we believe the two NCDC listings – under “Flash Floods” and under “Flooding” – refer to the same death. The NWS Service Assessment for this event notes, p. 9, just one death in Bartholomew County – male, 54 “drowned after car swept off road near flooded Haw Creek.”

[4] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Indiana, Hendricks County near Stilesville, 6-7-2008. Notes the victim’s “airboat capsized on floodwaters in Mill Creek in southwestern Hendricks County. He attempted to turn the boat to avoid a fallen tree, causing the boat to take on water and capsize….”

[5] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Indiana, Henry County, 6-4-2008, 5:00-7:30 EST. Notes the creek is also referred to as Colony Creek, that the bridge was on County Road 250 North near Hillsboro Road and that at about 5:30 am EST “Her vehicle submerged and swept downstream about a mile.” The NWS Service Assessment , at p. 9, has date of death as June 4.

[6] Highlighted in yellow to denote that we are not using this number. We have been able to identify two specific fatalities, and the NWS Service Assessment for this event, at p. 9, shows only two Iowa flooding fatalities.

[7] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Iowa, I-35 near Kamrar, June 7-8, 2008. Notes the victim drowned “as he drove into flood waters in Interstate 35 at milepost 141 in Hamilton County.”

[8] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Iowa, Wright County, 6-8-2008.

[9] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, MI, Allegan ~Castle Park/Glenn, 6-7-2008. “Two people drowned when they were delivering newspapers and their car plunged into a fifty foot ravine created by a washed out road.”

[10] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Flash Flood, Michigan, Ottawa County, June 7-8, 2008.

[11] NCDC. Storm Events Database. Flood, Michigan, Ottawa Co., ~Robinson, June 8-10. Notes: “Law enforcement near Rusk in Ottawa county determined that a man drowned while apparently tending to a drainage ditch with rising waters near a driveway. This occurred at Lake Michigan Drive and 112^th Avenue in Robinson Township.” Does not provide the age of the victim. Highlighted in yellow to indicate our belief that this and the previous “Worley Drain Dam” death refer to the same death. The NWS Service Assessment, at p. 9, notes 3 MI deaths.

[12] NWS. Service Assessment. Central United States Flooding of June 2008. Dec 2009, p. 9.

[13] NWS. Service Assessment. Central United States Flooding of June 2008. Dec 2009, p. 9.

2008 — June 4-12, Heavy Rain leading to Flash Flooding and Flooding, Midwest — 11