Wave packet scattering from a repulsive barrier is considered for a two-dimensional problem in the hydrodynamic formulation of quantum mechanics. The node problem is circumvented by implementation of the covering function method (CFM), which was previously tested on a one-dimensional scattering problem. Propagation of the actual wave function is substituted by propagation of node-free total and covering functions. After that, the actual function is extracted from them. Examples are presented to demonstrate the CFM for the scattering of both ground and excited internal state wave packets. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.