Flash Flood — Fayette, Illinois

2025-07-20 · near Lutz Spur, Fayette, Illinois

$600K

Property damage

Event narrative

Multiple towns and municipalities in northern Fayette County were affected by flash flooding according to emergency management, broadcast media, law enforcement/fire, and members of the public. In Wrights Corner, multiple roads had at least several inches of water covering them, with the intersection of N 2800 and County Road 2 having 3 to 6 feet of water on it. In Ramsey, rain rates of greater than 3 inches per hour caused 3 to 5 inches of water over the road at 8th Street and Fayette Street. The Ramsey Blacktop outside of town was also impassable due to water over the road. Near St. Elmo, a car was stalled in knee-deep water and the fire department was called to rescue the stranded individual. In Avena, US-40 was impassable due to flooding, and a vehicle and fire truck became stuck in around 2 feet of water. In Brownstown, a family's car became stuck in flood water, but they were able to walk out on their own. Near Shafter, a vehicle became stuck in flood water at County Road 2200 and N 200. E 1500 was flooded out in Saint James. Near Vandalia, a vehicle rolled over in 4 feet of flood water on I-70. Overall, this area received up to 13.5 inches of rain with 7.39 inches falling in 4.25 hours.

Wider weather episode

During the evening of July 20th, an MCS rode into south-central Illinois. Though the system as a whole kept pushing southeast during the evening, back-building and additional development along its northwestern edge caused it to rain constantly over Fayette County for hours. Between about 7:45 pm CDT and midnight, central Fayette County received 8.7 inches of rain of a total 13.5 inches. This resulted in flash flooding in the form of impassable roadways and stranded vehicles. A Flash Flood Emergency was issued for central Fayette County during this event.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.9322, -89.2366)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1278029. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.