12 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Jul 20, 7:40 PM CST, 4 hours 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 840 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003 NO CHANGES REQUIRED TO GOING ZONE FORECAST PACKAGE...THUS NO EVENING UPDATE NEEDED. TORNADO WATCH PLACED JUST TO THE NORTHWEST OF OUR CWA THIS EVENING AND WILL PROBABLY SEE A WATCH FOR OUR AREA IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. WATER VAPOR SHOWING FAIRLY DECENT SPEED MAX PUSHING ACRS WRN IA THIS EVENING WITH WIND PROFILERS SHOWING WINDS INCREASING AT H5 TO AROUND 50 KTS. AS FEATURE PUSHES EAST...SHEAR PROFILES ALONG WITH CURRENT INSTABILITY WILL BE SUPPORTIVE OF ORGANIZED SEVERE STORMS ACRS CNTRL IL OVERNIGHT...WITH THREAT PUSHING INTO OUR SE MONDAY MORNING. .ILX...NONE. SMITH
ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-211100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 901 PM CDT SUN JUL 20 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THERE IS A RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS CENTRAL ILLINOIS TONIGHT WITH THE THREAT FOR ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER SHIFTING INTO SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS MONDAY MORNING. A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL INTERACT WITH A COLD FRONT WHICH IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE MIDWEST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. VERY WARM AND HUMID AIR IS IN PLACE AHEAD OF THIS FRONTAL BOUNDARY TONIGHT AND AS THE UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE AND COLD FRONT MOVE TOWARDS ILLINOIS OVERNIGHT...THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL INCREASE. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM THE STORMS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS...ALTHOUGH LARGE HAIL AND HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. AREAS ALONG AND NORTHWEST OF THE ILLINOIS RIVER WILL SEE THE CHANCES FOR STORMS BETWEEN 1100 PM AND 200 AM...WHILE AREAS FURTHER EAST AND SOUTH WILL SEE THE CHANCES FOR SEVERE WEATHER AFTER 200 AM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AS THE FRONT CONTINUES SOUTHWARD...THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE WEATHER THROUGH MONDAY MORNING SOUTHEAST OF INTERSTATE 70. IN ADDITION...THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN TUESDAY AND TUESDAY AFTERNOON. AFTER THAT...ANOTHER CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE ON TAP FOR SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS ANTICIPATED ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS LATE TONIGHT AND DURING THE MORNING HOURS OF MONDAY. SMITH
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
12 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines across the northern portions of Knox county. Just north of Rio, a home sustained major roof damage due to the winds and a grain bin was damaged as well. A machine shed was destroyed in Rio. No injuries were reported.
Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down countywide. Some of the fallen trees caused minor roof damage to a couple of homes. Some of the fallen trees also blocked numerous streets. No injuries were reported.
Widespread wind damage to trees and power lines was reported in Elmwood, Princeville, Mossville, Chillicothe, Peoria and Bartonville. Some of the fallen trees landed on a couple of homes causing minor roof damage. A couple of sheds were destroyed and part of a roof on a business in Princeville was blown off. No injuries were reported.
Several large tree limbs were blown down.
Several trees and tree limbs were blown down.
Thunderstorm winds blew down several large trees. One large tree was blown down across Illinois Route 89 just south of Washburn. In Metamora, a couple of the fallen trees and tree limbs were blown down onto homes causing minor roof damage. Also, numerous power lines were blown down. No injuries were reported.
Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down. Several of the fallen trees caused minor damage to the roofs on a couple of houses and several cars sustained damage from the trees. No injuries were reported.
Thunderstorm winds blew down numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines. In Lexington, the roof of a maintenance building was blown off. Several of the fallen trees in Lexington and Bloomington caused minor damage to a couple of homes. No injuries were reported.
Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down.
Several trees were blown down south of town.
Very heavy rain fell in a short amount of time. Numerous roads in town were briefly flooded due to the heavy rain.
A large tree was blown down in Washington Park.
A large tree was blown down across Illinois Route 121 west of Toledo.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, July 2003
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: 5329404, 5330003, 5329406, 5330002, 5330005, 5330004, 5330006, 5330007, 5330061, 5330062, 5330063, 5329405, 5330064, 5330065.