2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
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 May 17, 1:20 AM CST, 1 hour 59 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 220 AM CDT THU MAY 17 2001 PLENTY OF CONCERNS THIS RUN WITH MAIN FOCUS ON THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY...SEVERE POTENTIAL...HEAVY RAINFALL...AND TEMPERATURES. LATEST 06Z SURFACE ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATES SURFACE LOW ACROSS NORTHWEST MISSOURI/SOUTHERN IOWA. SURFACE STATIONARY FRONT EXTENDS FROM SOUTHERN IOWA EAST INTO CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND EAST INTO INDIANA. SFC COLD FRONT EXTENDS ACROSS CENTRAL PLAINS STATES ...WITH ANOTHER COLD FRONT ACROSS NORTHERN PLAINS STATES. LATEST 0645Z IR-SATELLITE IMAGE DEMONSTRATES THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS IOWA...EASTERN ILLINOIS...AND INTO WESTERN INDIANA. ALSO STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS IOWA WITH IR-SATELLITE DEMONSTRATING CLOUD TOPS COOLING. LATEST IR-SATELLITE ALSO DEMONSTRATING PLENTY OF MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS ACROSS PARTS OF ILLINOIS. LATEST 0645Z WATER VAPOR IMAGE DEMONSTRATING SEVERAL S/W ACROSS MID MS VALLEY... PLAINS STATES...AND WESTERN US. STRONG S/W WAS ACROSS WESTERN ND/EASTERN MONTANA. LATEST 0656Z KILX RADAR INDICATING SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHEAST CWA WEAKENING AND STRONG THUNDERSTORMS APPROACHING NORTHWEST CWA. AN OUTFLOW BOUNDARY EXTENDED FROM JUST EAST OF BMI TO MOUNT PULASKI LINE AND MOVING WEST. LATEST 0659Z KDVN RADAR INDICATING STRONG TSTMS JUST SOUTHWEST OF DVN MOVING EAST-SOUTHEAST. MODELS AGAIN DIVERGING SOME THIS RUN. PREFER TO USE MAINLY AN ETA SOLUTION WHICH APPEARS TO ALREADY HAVE SOME PROBLEMS WITH SOME OF THE CURRENT SITUATION. MODELS AGAIN APPEAR TO MOVE MAIN COLD FRONT ACROSS CWA THIS EVENING INTO OVERNIGHT. RIDGE ACROSS CWA DAMPENS NEXT 48 HRS WITH SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES. ETA BRING IN 80-90 PERCENT 925MB RH BY 06Z FRI ACROSS CWA AND MAINTAINS IT THROUGH 12Z FRI WEST AND 18Z SOUTHEAST. ETA KEEPS ABOUT 60-70 PERCENT 700MB RH ACROSS CWA THRU 00Z FRI WITH A DRY PUNCH 20 PERCENT 700MB RH IN UPPER MIDWEST BY 00Z FRI. ETA BRINGS IN DRY AIR INTO NW CWA BY 12Z FRI AND THEN HAS STEEP GRADIENT OF 700MB RH FROM 20 PERCENT IN NW CWA TO 70 PERCENT 700MB RH IN SOUTHEAST CWA BY 06Z SAT. THEN BY 12Z SAT DRIER 700MB RH ACROSS ENTIRE CWA. ETA MOVES THE 110KT 300MB JET INTO UPPER MIDWEST BY 18Z THU...THEN INTO NORTHERN GREAT LAKES BY 00Z FRI...THEN ACROSS NEW ENGLAND STATES BY 00Z SAT. ETA T/H CROSS SECTIONS DEMONSTRATES HIGH MID LEVEL MOISTURE BY 12Z THU THRU 00Z SAT. HIGH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN PLACE BY 06Z FRI. ETA HAS +18 TO +20 850MB TEMPS THRU 18Z THU...+16 TO +18 850 TEMPS BY 00Z FRI...+13 TO +14 850 TEMPS BY 12Z FRI...+12 TO +14 BY 00Z SAT. ETA 310K ISENTROPIC SFC INDICATING SOME WEAK ISENTROPIC LIFT AND COND PRES DEF ACROSS CWA NEXT 42 HRS...18Z FRI. LATEST ETA MODEL SOUNDINGS DEMONSTRATES FAIRLY STRONG INSTABILITY THIS AFTERNOON WITH MUCAPES OF 3000-4000 J/KG AND LI/S -6 TO -9. HOWEVER SOUNDINGS SUGGEST WEAKER CAP. PWS OF 1.5 TO 1.75 WILL PRODUCE COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF RAIN IN THUNDERSTORMS. ALSO SEVERAL OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES CURRENTLY NEAR CWA. EXPECT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TODAY. WILL MONITOR CURRENT RADAR AND MAY LEAVE POPS OUT OF FIRST PERIOD ZONES IF TSTMS ARE ONGOING OR SOON TO ARRIVE. WILL BRING IN CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION TO MOST OF CWA ON FRIDAY. FWC/FAN/MAV SEEM REASONABLE. CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY AND STATIONARY FRONT WILL DETERMINE HIGHS. WILL USE A BLEND. WILL KEEP EXTENDED WITH NO CHANGES EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. ...PRELIMINARY CCF FOR COORDINATION PURPOSES ONLY... SPI TE 087/059 075/054 074 13563 PIA TE 085/058 074/052 073 13542 DEC TE 087/060 075/053 074 13563 CMI TE 088/060 075/052 073 13563 MTO TE 088/061 076/054 074 13564 LWV TE 089/063 076/056 075 13564 .ILX...NONE. EH
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 09:19 UTC.
2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous large tree limbs were blown down as well as a large tree. No structural damage was reported.
Hail began at Lake Sara, roughly 5 miles west of Effingham and continued into Effingham.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, May 2001
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: 5248820, 5248821, 5248822.