Flood — Wayne, Illinois

2013-12-24 to 2013-12-31 · near Mt Erie, Wayne, Illinois

Event narrative

Flooding of the Little Wabash River affected low-lying fields and woodlands. A 42-year-old woman died after driving her car into the backwaters of the Little Wabash River northeast of Fairfield. Using an airplane, state police located her body beneath ice not far from the abandoned car. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead of hypothermia.

Wider weather episode

Heavy rainfall shortly before Christmas caused sharp rises on regional rivers. The heavy rainfall was caused by a slow-moving cold front that passed across the Lower Ohio and Mid Mississippi Valleys between the 20th and 22nd. Several low pressure systems moved north-northeast along the front, touching off numerous showers and thunderstorms. Generally only minor river flooding was reported.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.5251, -88.1207)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 487166. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.