Damaging Winds in Illinois, June 10, 2002

Name: Damaging Winds in Illinois, June 10, 2002
Start: 2002-06-10T14:15
End: 2002-06-10T18:10
Location: Illinois

June 10, 2002 · NWS LOT · 7 events in 6 counties and zones

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 happened

The episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.

During the afternoon hours of June 10th, pulse thunderstorms developed in a moist and unstable atmosphere. An approaching shortwave along with low level winds of 35 knots, allowed these thunderstorms to produce wet microbursts. Some of these microbursts produced significant wind damage. In Hampshire in Kane county, a semi truck and a few cars were blown off route 20, 3/8 of mile west of Big Timber road. Trees and power lines were also blown down. During the evening hours, dozens of large tress and power lines were blown down in Wheaton in Dupage county where winds were estimated at 65 to 70 mph. In addition to the strong winds, heavy rain produced minor street flooding across parts of Chicago and Cook county.

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 Jun 10, 2:15 PM CST, 0 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 10, 2:15 PM CST, 0 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
315 PM CDT MON JUN 10 2002

GOING FCST STILL ON TRACK.  LATEST SATLT/RADAR LOOPS SHOW SMALL
CLUSTERS OF TSTMS OVR ENTR RGN.   AMS WILL BE TEMPORARILY
STABILIZED BY PASG OF STGR STMS DUE TO OUTFLOW.  HOWEVER...
OVERALL SYNOPTIC PATN STILL SHOWS BROAD 30 TO 35 KT H85 FLO INTO
RGN WITH PLENTY OF INSTABILITY JUST UPSTREAM.  THEREFORE EXPECT
OTHER TSTM CLUSTERS OVER CNTRL IL TO MIGRATE NWD INTO FA THIS
EVE.  BASED ON THIS AND ONGOING CONVECTION ACRS AREA WILL JUST
GO WITH UNQUALIFIED MENTION OF SCTD TSTMS...MAIN EMPHASIS ON
THIS EVE AS COMBINATION OF LOSS OF DIURNAL HEATING AND PASSAGE
OF S/W NOW MOVG THRU RGN SHUD LIMIT DVLPMT LATER DURG THE NIGHT.

BIG QUESTION DEALS WITH TUES/TUES NGT TIME FRAME.  MODELS HAVE
BEEN SOMEWHAT INCONSISTENT WITH FRONTAL TIMING...BUT SEEM TO BE
ZEROING ON LATE TUES NGT-WED MRNG.  AT ANY RATE EXPECT FRONTAL
ACTIVITY TO BE SAGGING S OF CWA BY NOON WED FOLLOWED BY PARTIAL
CLRG.  WILL GO WITH LIKELY POPS FOR TUES NGT AS PER MAV GUID DUE
TO HIGH DEGREE OF INSTABILITY AHD OF FRONT.  ONLY LIMITING
FACTOR APPEARS TO BE WIND PROFILES AS WK LO LVL RIDGE AXIS JUST
TO SW OF RGN CONTINUES TO BE ADVERTIZED BY MDLS ON TUES AND TUES
NGT.

WILL MAKE LTL CHG TO RMNDR OF FCST AS INSTABILITY SHWRS APPEAR
LIKELY GIVEN AVN FCST SOUNDINGS THUR AFTN AND PROBABLY FRI AFTN
AS WELL.

.CHI...NONE

MERZLOCK

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 10, 10:24 AM CST, 3 hours 51 minutes before

ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032>033-039-INZ001>002-010>011-019
-111100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1200 PM CDT/EST MON JUN 10 2002

FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA.

NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT.

UNSTABLE TROPICAL AIR IN COMBINATION WITH AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE
OVER THE MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WILL PROMOTE THUNDERSTORM
DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.  THESE
STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE...HOWEVER...BRIEF GUSTY WINDS
AND BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE LIKLEY.

ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND TUESDAY NIGHT THERE EXISTS A SLIGHT RISK
FOR SOME SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE REGION AS A COLD FRONT
APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST.

MERZLOCK

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Cook

When: June 10, 2:15 PM CST
Where: Cook County, Evanston
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.050, -87.683

Thunderstorm Wind, Kane

When: June 10, 3:15 PM CST
Where: Kane County, Hampshire
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 42.100, -88.533

Thunderstorm Wind, Du Page

When: June 10, 3:35 PM CST
Where: Du Page County, Bolingbrook
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 41.667, -88.133

Thunderstorm Wind, De Kalb

When: June 10, 5:33 PM CST
Where: De Kalb County, 1 mi NW of De Kalb
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.950, -88.767

Thunderstorm Wind, Du Page

When: June 10, 5:40 PM CST to 5:50 PM CST
Where: Du Page County, Wheaton
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.867, -88.117

Thunderstorm Wind, Winnebago

When: June 10, 5:45 PM CST
Where: Winnebago County, 2 mi E of Rockford
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 42.267, -89.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Boone

When: June 10, 6:10 PM CST
Where: Boone County, Caledonia
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates: 42.367, -88.900

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, June 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: 5298836, 5298837, 5298838, 5298839, 5298841, 5298840, 5298842.