Damaging Winds in Illinois, August 2, 2001

Name: Damaging Winds in Illinois, August 2, 2001
Start: 2001-08-02T15:31
End: 2001-08-02T18:02
Location: Illinois

August 2, 2001 · NWS ILX · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

7 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 2, 1:54 PM CST, 1 hour 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 2, 1:54 PM CST, 1 hour 37 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
254 PM CDT THU AUG 2 2001

MAIN CONCERNS WILL BE PRECIPITATION...POSSIBLE STRONG STORMS...HEAVY
RAINFALL POTENTIAL...AND TEMPERATURES.

LATEST 18Z SFC ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATES A SFC COLD FRONT ACROSS
WISCONSIN SOUTHWEST INTO SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA. SFC OUTFLOW BOUNDARY
WAS ALSO ACROSS CENTRAL ILLINOIS. LATEST 1845Z IR SATELLITE SHOWS
PLENTY OF MID AND HIGH CLOUDS ACROSS ILLINOIS. LATEST 1845Z W/V
IMAGE HAS S/W ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS...ANOTHER ACROSS UPPER
MIDWEST INTO CENTRAL PLAINS STATES. LATEST 1845Z VISIBLE IMAGE SHOWS
SOME ENHANCED CU ACROSS SOUTHERN IOWA. LATEST 18Z MSAS DATA SHOWS
SURFACE LI/S -6 TO -8 ACROSS CWA. LATEST 1854Z KILX RADAR HAS
THUNDERSTORMS SOUTH AND EAST OF A CLINTON TO SPI LINE MOVING
SOUTHEAST. LATEST 1848Z KDVN RADAR SHOWS THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING
ACROSS EAST CENTRAL IOWA MOVING EAST-SOUTHEAST.

MODELS FAIRLY SIMILAR WITH MAIN FEATURES...HOWEVER DIFFERENCES WERE
NOTED ESPECIALLY WITH HANDLING SOME OF THE S/WS. ELECTING TO USE AN
AVN/ETA BLEND.

ETA SLOWLY MOVES SFC COLD FRONT SOUTH ACROSS CWA BY FRIDAY MORNING.
SFC HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS ACROSS GREAT LAKES REGION ON FRIDAY
AND PUSHES SFC FRONT SOUTH AND EAST. RIDGE ACROSS MID MS VALLEY AND
PLAINS STATES SHIFTS SLIGHTLY WEST INTO WESTERN PLAINS STATES. ETA
KEEPS +20 H85 TEMPS THRU 00Z SAT...THEN DROPS +18 TO +20 H85
TEMPS BY 00Z SUN. ETA KEEPS 70-80 PERCENT 700MB RH TIL 06Z FRI...
THEN A DECREASE TIL 30-40 PERCENT THRU 00Z SUN. ETA PLACES 80
PERCENT 925MB RH THRU 18Z FRI...THEN A DECREASE TO 50-60
PERCENT THRU 00Z SUN. ETA T/H CROSS SECTIONS PLACES HIGH LOW LEVEL
MOISTURE BETWEEN 06Z THRU 18Z FRI...THEN DECREASE AT ALL LEVELS
THRU 12Z SAT. ETA 310K ISENTROPIC SFC INDICATES SOME WEAK COND
PRES DEF AND POTENTIAL PCPN THRU 12Z FRI...THEN MOVES IT SOUTH
AND EAST OF CWA.  LATEST MODEL SOUNDINGS SHOW FAIRLY MOIST AIR
THRU 06Z FRI...THEN DRIER AIR WORKING BY 00Z SAT THRU 00Z SUN.
P/WS NEAR 2 INCHES. WITH STORMS MOVING TOWARDS SE CWA...WITH VERY LOW
FFG IN SE 8 COUNTIES...WITH POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS...WILL
ISSUE FFA TONIGHT FOR SE CWA. ALSO WILL MONITOR CURRENT RADAR TRENDS
AND MAY NOT MENTION POPS TONIGHT IN PARTS OF CWA. WILL GO PERIODS OF
THUNDERSTORMS.

THANKS FOR COORDINATION WITH PAH...IND...STL.

EXTENDED LOOKS FAIRLY DRY. HOWEVER...WILL HAVE TO MONITOR ANY MCS
DEVELOPMENT INTO NEXT WEEK. WILL INTRODUCE CHC OF PCPN NEXT
THURSDAY WITH ANOTHER POSSIBLE FRONT NEAR CWA.

TEMPERATURES ARE SIMILAR AND WILL NOT STRAY TOO FAR FROM GUIDANCE.

...PRELIMINARY CCF FOR COORDINATION PURPOSES ONLY...

SPI BB 072/089 065/087 064 13730
PIA BB 071/089 064/087 064 13730
DEC BB 072/089 065/087 065 13730
CMI BB 071/088 064/086 063 13730
MTO BB 072/089 065/088 064 13731
LWV BB 073/090 067/088 066 13742

.ILX...FLASH FLOOD WATCH ILZ062-063-066>068-071>073.

EH

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 2, 11:18 AM CST, 4 hours 13 minutes before

ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-021800-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL ILLINOIS
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1218 PM CDT THU AUG 2 2001

...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO
TONIGHT...

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ACROSS CENTRAL
ILLINOIS THIS AFTERNOON...WITH CONTINUED CHANCES INTO TONIGHT.
CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR THESE STORMS TO MOVE SLOWLY AND PRODUCE
HEAVY RAINFALL. SOME OF THESE STORMS...NORTHWEST OF THE ILLINOIS
RIVER COULD PRODUCE SEVERE WEATHER LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO
THIS EVENING.

THEREFORE SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

AUTEN

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 76 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:31 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Knox

When: August 2, 3:31 PM CST
Where: Knox County, Galesburg
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.950, -90.367

Several trees and power lines were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Fulton

When: August 2, 4:00 PM CST to 4:15 PM CST
Where: Fulton County, Marietta
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.500, -90.383

Several power lines and large tree limbs were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mason

When: August 2, 5:00 PM CST to 5:25 PM CST
Where: Mason County, Havana
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 40.300, -90.067

Several trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Schuyler

When: August 2, 5:05 PM CST
Where: Schuyler County, 5 mi SW of Rushville
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.067, -90.633

Several power lines were blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cass

When: August 2, 5:31 PM CST
Where: Cass County, Ashland
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.883, -90.017

Tree was blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sangamon

When: August 2, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Sangamon County, Springfield
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 39.800, -89.650

Several power lines, tree limbs and a street light was blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Scott

When: August 2, 6:00 PM CST to 6:02 PM CST
Where: Scott County, Winchester
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.633, -90.467

Several trees and power lines were blown down.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, August 2001

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: 5266165, 5266231, 5266232, 5266233, 5266234, 5266235, 5266236.