Heat, Knox
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Knox forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.932, -90.213 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat in Illinois, July 26 to 27, 1997
A brief heat wave hit Central Illinois persisting for a little less than 48 hours from July 26the to July 27th. Temperatures ranged from 95 to 100 degrees both days with heat index values ranging from 105 to 115 degrees.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 35 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 35
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS ILX wrote it up.
A brief heat wave hit Central Illinois persisting for a little less than 48 hours from July 26the to July 27th. Temperatures ranged from 95 to 100 degrees both days with heat index values ranging from 105 to 115 degrees. One man died while working in farm fields near Danville (Vermilion County) and an elderly woman died in her home in Bloomington (McLean County). There were numerous reports of heat related injuries in most area hospitals. Also, there were numerous reports of roads buckling due to the high temperatures.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
35 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Cass
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cass forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.974, -90.247 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Champaign
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Champaign forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.140, -88.199 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Christian
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Christian forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.546, -89.277 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Clark
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Clark forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.334, -87.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Clay
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Clay forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.754, -88.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Coles
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Coles forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.520, -88.222 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Crawford
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Crawford forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.003, -87.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Cumberland
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Cumberland forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.273, -88.240 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, De Witt
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- De Witt forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.175, -88.904 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Douglas
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Douglas forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.770, -88.217 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Edgar
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Edgar forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.679, -87.746 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Effingham
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Effingham forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.060, -88.590 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Fulton
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Fulton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.473, -90.207 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Jasper
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Jasper forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.010, -88.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Lawrence
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Lawrence forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.720, -87.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Logan
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Logan forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.125, -89.367 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Macon
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Macon forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.860, -88.962 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Marshall
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Marshall forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.033, -89.345 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Mason
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Mason forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.240, -89.917 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, McLean
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- McLean forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 40.491, -88.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Menard
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Menard forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.027, -89.802 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Morgan
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Morgan forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.716, -90.201 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Moultrie
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Moultrie forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.642, -88.619 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Peoria
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Peoria forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.788, -89.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Piatt
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Piatt forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.010, -88.591 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Richland
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Richland forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 38.712, -88.085 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Sangamon
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Sangamon forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.758, -89.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Schuyler
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Schuyler forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.158, -90.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Scott
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Scott forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.644, -90.475 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Shelby
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Shelby forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 39.391, -88.805 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Stark
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Stark forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 41.093, -89.797 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Tazewell
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Tazewell forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.508, -89.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Vermilion
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Vermilion forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 40.183, -87.733 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Woodford
- When
- July 26, 9:00 AM CST to July 27, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Woodford forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.788, -89.211 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, McLean | 1997-07-27 | 70 | Female | Permanent Home | Direct |
| Heat, Vermilion | 1997-07-26 | 64 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
What these are
- Heat
- Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Missouri, July 26 to 28, 1997
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Ohio, July 26 to 27, 1997
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Wisconsin, July 26, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Michigan, July 26, 1997
- Tornado in Iowa, July 26, 1997
- Flash Flood in Iowa, July 26, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 26, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, July 26, 1997
- Tornado in Ohio, July 26, 1997
- Heat in Indiana, July 26 to 27, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Ohio, July 26, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Iowa, July 26, 1997
More
Every storm in Illinois in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, July 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5609570, 5609571, 5609572, 5609573, 5609574, 5609575, 5609576, 5609577, 5609578, 5609579, 5609580, 5609581, 5609582, 5609583, 5609584, 5609585, 5609586, 5609587, 5609588, 5609589, 5609653, 5609654, 5609655, 5609656, 5609657, 5609658, 5609659, 5609660, 5609661, 5609662, 5609663, 5609664, 5609665, 5609666, 5609667.