Funnel Cloud in Illinois, August 22, 2002

Name: Funnel Cloud in Illinois, August 22, 2002
Start: 2002-08-22T16:45
End: 2002-08-22T16:48
Location: Illinois

August 22, 2002 · NWS LOT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A thunderstorm near Mendota produced a brief funnel cloud during the afternoon of August 22nd.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 LOT wrote it up.

A thunderstorm near Mendota produced a brief funnel cloud during the afternoon of August 22nd.

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 Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 22, 12:53 PM CST, 3 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 22, 12:53 PM CST, 3 hours 52 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
153 PM CDT THU AUG 22 2002

AS OF 1 PM SOME SHOWERS IN A BAND IN PVA ZONE ASSOCIATED WITH VORT
OVERHEAD. MAIN OUTLFFLOW FROM MORNING STUFF DOWN IN OUR SE COUNTIES.
PARTIAL CLEARING IN IOWA IN SUBSIDENCE ZONE BEHIND VORT. NEXT TROF
NOW IN DAKOTAS SHOWING ON VAPOR PIC.

BIG Q IS HEAVY RAIN AGAIN TONIGHT. FRONT TO SLOWLY SINK S. TS LAST
NIGHT JUST S OF THE 925 CONVERGENCE ZONE. THIS SINKS TO OUR S
COUNTIES TONIGHT. BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAST NIGHT AND TONIGHT IS
MUCH MUCH WEAKER JET DIVERGENCE OVER AREA AND MUCH MUCH WEAKER 925-
850 INFLOWS WELL AS MUCH WEAKER OMEGA. SO DYNAMICS NOT EVEN CLOSE. ON
OTHER HAND CELLS WILL BE SLOWER TO MOVE AND PRCEIP WATER STILL
FORECSAST OVER 2 INCHES WITH WEAK 850 ZONE STILL IN AREA. FLASH FLOOD
GUIDANCE JUST OVER 2 INCHES S PART OF AREA DUE TO RAINS FEW DAYS AGO.

MODELS SHOW 700 VORT RIDGING BACK INTO S COUNTIES LATE TONIGHT INTO
TOMORROW TO MATCH INCREASE IN COLUMN RH. THIS I BELIEVE IS WHEN MAIN
CONVERGENCE/OVERRUNING OF FRONT WILL OCCUR. VERY TYPICAL OF TROPICAL
AIRMASS TS EVENT. IN MEAN TIME WOULD JUST BE SCATTERED STUFF. FRONT
BY 06Z S OF CHI SO HEAVY RAIN EVENT SHOULD BE ALONG AND S OF IT SINCE
OVERRUNNING OF LOW LEVEL JET LACKING.

BASED ON ABOVE WILL CANCEL FLOOD WATCH N AND PUT 1 UP FOR S TIER.

TEMP GUIDANCE LOOKS OK

COORD WITH ILX DVN

.CHI...FFA S TIER COUNTIES.

AF

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:45 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Funnel Cloud, La Salle

When: August 22, 4:45 PM CST to 4:48 PM CST
Where: La Salle County, 5 mi S of Mendota
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 41.344, -88.886 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Funnel Cloud: A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, August 2002

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: 5311198.