Midwest Overview - June 15-21, 2003

A nearly stationary boundary between drier and moister air was located through the Ohio Valley axis from June 15-18, displaced only in the last two days of the week by high pressure from Canada. Combining the four days this week with three days during the previous week, the stationary boundary caused river and flash flooding in parts of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Precipitation totals averaged 2-4 inches in this area (Figure 1), with some places having radar indicated totals of more than 8 inches. While more than 300% of normal precipitation fell in eastern Kentucky during the June 15-21 period, a large portion of the rest of the Midwest received less than 25% of normal for the week (Figure 2). Temperatures were 2-6°F cooler than normal for the period over the southeastern two-thirds of the Midwest, with only Minnesota reaching a few degrees above normal (Figure 3). The combination of little precipitation and dew points in the 50s dried surfaces considerably in the western and central Corn Belt, and caused a reintroduction of abnormally dry conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor in eastern Iowa, northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, northwestern Indiana, and southeastern Michigan (Figure 4, National Drought Mitigation Center).

While little in the way of severe weather occurred during the week, the thunderstorms spawned near the stationary boundary in the Ohio Valley would tend to move very little and dump copious amounts of rain in places. The most damage and destruction in the Midwest region occurred in southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky; West Virginia and far western portions of Virginia and North Carolina were also impacted. The precipitation on June 15 and 16 was particularly heavy in eastern Kentucky (Figure 5, NWS), where a 6-yr old died when she slipped into Drowning Creek in Estill County, KY, and a 20-yr old died in a flooded cave in Carter Caves State Park in northeastern Kentucky. On the 17th, a 12-yr old girl and her mother were swept into a river when their mobile home was destroyed by rising flood waters, but both survived. To the north, the Great Miami River rose significantly above flood stage (Figure 6, USGS), causing 1500 people to be evacuated from homes in the community of New Miami. By the 18th, most of the rain had ended in the Ohio Valley / Eastern Kentucky area, leaving tremendous totals for the week (Figure 7, NWS) and high river levels for the time of year (Figure 8, USGS). Substantial property damage was reported throughout the area, caused directly by flooding or by the 15-20 mud slides reported in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. The rain also severely hampered agriculture in the area, taking washed out fields past the point at which they could be replanted this year. The week ended on a quiet note, with cool morning minimum temperatures and pleasant and dry days.