Flood Warning Issued for Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky Through Thursday Morning
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 6, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Warning for several counties in southern Illinois and western Kentucky following heavy rainfall of up to 5 inches.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Flood Warning
- Affected area
- Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Paducah KY
Flood notices turn on location and timing. Treat the named area as this record's scope; do not assume nearby counties, parishes, or waterways were included.
Record status: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Paducah, KY, has issued a Flood Warning for portions of southern Illinois and western Kentucky. The alert was issued at 7:51 AM CST on March 5, 2026, following reports of excessive rainfall and ongoing flooding in the region.
Affected Areas
The warning impacts the following geographic regions:
- Southern Illinois Counties: Alexander, Hardin, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, and Union.
- Western Kentucky Counties: Crittenden and Livingston.
Specific locations expected to experience flooding include Metropolis, Anna, Marion, Sturgis, Jonesboro, Vienna, Rosiclare, Goreville, Salem, Dongola, Golconda, Tamms, Karnak, Dixon Springs, New Columbia, Joy, Lake Of Egypt Area, Burna, Olive Branch, and Ware.
What You Should Do
Residents are urged to follow the safety mantra: "Turn around, don't drown" when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. In hilly terrain, there are hundreds of low water crossings which are potentially dangerous in heavy rain; do not attempt to cross these and find an alternate route instead. Additionally, campers and hikers should avoid streams or creeks, which can become life-threatening during heavy rains.
Expected Conditions
As of 7:50 AM CST, Doppler radar and automated rain gauges indicated that heavy rain from thunderstorms has already resulted in 2 to 5 inches of accumulation. Additional rainfall amounts of up to 0.5 inches are possible. Streams continue to rise due to excess runoff, and it will take several hours for water to work through local drainage systems in urban areas.
Timeline
The Flood Warning is effective immediately and is currently set to expire at 11:00 AM CST on March 5, 2026.
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
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