National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

2000-2009: A decade of wild weather

From record fall tornadoes to an historic ice storm, and from a record harsh April freeze to record summer heat...this decade saw just about every extreme. Below are some of the records that were observed in the past ten years:

• 2000: Wettest January on record (at Evansville)
• 2000: Coldest December on record (at Paducah)
• 2003: Most tornadoes in a year (for the Paducah forecast area)
• 2004: Driest September on record (at Paducah and Evansville)
• 2004: Heaviest 24-hour snowfall on record (for both Evansville and Paducah, Dec. 22)
• 2005: Highest river stage on record on the Wabash River at Mt. Carmel, IL (January) 
• 2005: Wettest August on record (at Evansville)
• 2005: Strongest fall tornado on record (for the Paducah forecast area, Nov. 15, Madisonville F-4) 
• 2006: Warmest January on record (at Paducah)
• 2006: Wettest September on record (at Paducah)
• 2007: Warmest March on record (at Paducah)
• 2007: Coldest April temperature on record (at Paducah)
• 2007: Hottest August on record (at Paducah)
• 2007: Driest August on record (at Cape Girardeau)
• 2008: Record 24-hour rainfall (at Cape Girardeau, March 18-19)
• 2008: Highest river stage on record on the Black River at Poplar Bluff, MO (March)
• 2009: Worst ice storm on record (based on historical accounts and damage estimates, west KY)
• 2009: Wettest October on record (at Paducah)

In coming weeks, a more detailed review of the decade will include events that did not set records. Examples include the F-4 tornado in Massac, Pulaski, and Pope Counties in May of 2003 and the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September of 2008.