Sustained heavy rains affected portions of Northern Illinois during the period of June 11th though June 13th. As much as 4 to10 inches of rain were reported over portions of the Iroquois and Kankakee Counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.
Sustained heavy rains affected portions of Northern Illinois during the period of June 11th though June 13th. As much as 4 to10 inches of rain were reported over portions of the Iroquois and Kankakee Counties. Flash flooding occurred along Sugar Creek in Iroquois County. Many streams were flooding and the fast moving water presented a significant hazard to motorists.The high flows from flash flooding of smaller tributaries moved downstream into the Iroquois and Kankakee Rivers. The Iroquois River crested nearly 5 feet above flood stage. Widespread flooding along portions of the Sugar Creek and Iroquois River occurred in Iroquois county. The City of Watseka reported as many as 200 homes in the north and northeast portions of the town were affected by flood waters. In Iroquois County flooding was reported along portions of Route 52, at Old Route 45 north of Clifton at Langhan Creek, near Papineau and south of Donovan.
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 11, 5:26 AM CST, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 626 AM CDT FRI JUN 11 2004 .AVIATION DISCUSSION FOR 12Z TAFS... FCST CHALLENGES REMAIN FNTL POSITION AND TIMING OF PRECIP/CONVECTION CHCS NEXT 24 HOURS. STNRY FRONT REMAINS RIGHT ACROSS FCST AREA THIS MORNING...FROM ROUGHLY SOUTH OF KRFD TO KORD TO KGYY. FRONT HAS MOVED A FEW MILES NORTH IN RESPONSE TO S/WV MOVG ACROSS REGION OVRNGT...THOUGH EXPECT IT WILL DRIFT BACK SOUTH A BIT AGAIN THIS MORNING AS THE S/WV EXITS TO THE EAST. IFR CONDITIONS THE RULE NORTH OF THE BOUNDARY WITH CIGS 4-6 HUNDRED FT...WHILE GENERALLY MVFR TO THE SOUTH. WITH FRONT ABOUT AT KORD NOW WILL START ALL CHI AREA TERMINALS OUT PREVAILING MVFR...THOUGH EXPECT SOME LOWERING TO HIGH IFR CIGS AS FNT SLIPS BACK SOUTH AND WIND TURNS MORE EASTERLY OFF LAKE LATER THIS AM. ETA/META FCST SOUNDINGS AND TIME SECTIONS ALL KEEP VERY MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER THROUGH DAY...THOUGH EXPECT DIURNAL RISE BACK TO MVFR CIGS BY AFTN. PRECIP TIMING OTHER SERIOUS CONCERN. OBVIOUSLY SOME SHRA AROUND THIS MORNING AS 1ST S/WV DEPARTS TO THE EAST...THEN NEXT BEST CHC APPEARS TO BE LATE THIS AFTN INTO THIS EVE AS TAIL OF S/WV CURRENTLY MOVG INTO WRN IA PUSHES INTO THE UPPER RIDGE OVR IL/WI. TIMING RATHER DIFFICULT HOWEVER...AS CONT SWRLY FLOW TO SUPPLY LLVL THETA-E ADVECTION THROUGHOUT DAY WHICH COULD SUPPORT SHRA/TSRA JUST ABOUT ANYTIME. HAVE LIMITED MENTION IN TAFS TO LATER THIS AFTN THOUGH...WHEN DIURNAL INSTABILITY AND APPROACH OF S/WV ARE MORE FAVORABLE. COOLER BOUNDARY LAYER NORTH OF FNT WITH EAST FLOW OFF LAKE...THOUGH WARM SECTOR LIKELY TO BECOME MODERATELY UNSTABLE THIS AFTN...ESPECIALLY IF ANY SIG THINNING OR CLRG OF CLD COVER OCCURS ACROSS MO/SRN IA/W CNTRL IL. WITH MORE DETAILED TIMING STILL UNCERTAIN...HAVE INCLUDED TSRA ONLY KRFD AND KDPA FARTHER WEST/CLOSER TO FRONT AND UNSTABLE WARM SECTOR...AND WILL ALLOW DAY SHIFT TO MONITOR CONVECTIVE TRENDS THIS AFTN FOR CHI SITES. RATZER && .DISCUSSION FOR MORNING ZONES/GRIDS... SHOWERS ARE STILL IN AREA WITH NEW DEVELOPMENT MOVING THIS WAY FROM CENTRAL IL. UPPER RIDGE HAS INTENSIFIED OVER AREA AND WUD APPEAR TO HAVE STABILIZED TSTM ACTIVITY FOR NOW...BUT SOME PCPN CONTS TO FORM. WITH WARM FRONT IN VICINITY TODAY AND DECENT 850 FLOW FROM THE GULF... LIKELIHOOD OF RAIN WILL LIKELY CONT. NOTICED ON ETA SOUNDINGS FOR ORD SOME COOLING IN UPR LVLS ACCOMPANIED BY LOW LVL WARMING. THIS WUD STEEPEN LAPSE RATES AND CUD TRIGGER SOME AFTN CONVECTION. MODELS HOWEVER ALSO INDICATE A CONTINUOUSLY RISING CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURE TODAY TO 82. WITH EAST FLOW OFF LAKE MICHIGAN...NERN IL IS LEAST LIKELY TO BE THE FEEDING GROUNDS FOR TSTM DEVELOPMENT. BUT FURTHER WEST AND SOUTH TOWARD RFD AND PIA WUD BE A DECENT SPAWNING ARENA. WILL THUS KEEP CHC OF TSTMS IN FOR TODAY WITH POPS HIER AWAY FROM LAKE MICHIGAN. WILL CONTINUE INTO TNGT WITH WARM FRONT STILL IN VICINITY. WILL NOT REISSUE FLOOD WATCH...SINCE BEST CHANCES ARE MAINLY OUTSIDE WATCH AREA TODAY AND MODEL QPFS NOT HEAVY. WARM FRONT MOVES THRU NRN IL/NW INDY LT SAT MRNG TO ERY AFTN. AM OPTING TO GO DRY FOR SATURDAY AND SAT NGHT IN WARM SECTOR...BUT RETURN CHC OF TSTMS SUNDAY WITH APPROACH OF NEXT MAJOR SHORT WAVE FROM THE PLAINS. WITH RIDGING RETURNING MONDAY...HAVE DRIED IT OUT AGAIN UNTIL MAIN COLD FRONT MONDAY NIGHT...THEN DRY REST OF WEEK. RLB .LOT...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...FLOOD WATCH TIL 6AM N OF FEP-VPZ LN. IN...FLOOD WATCH TIL 6AM N OF FEP-VPZ LN. LK MI...NONE. && IMPORTANT NOTICE...EFFECTIVE JUNE 15...THE AWIPS IDENTIFIER FOR THIS PRODUCT WILL CHANGE FROM CHIAFDCHI TO CHIAFDLOT. THE WMO HEADER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 600 AM CDT FRI JUN 11 2004 ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>022-023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011-019 -121100- WINNEBAGO-BOONE-MCHENRY-LAKE IL-OGLE-LEE-DE KALB-KANE-DU PAGE-COOK- LA SALLE-KENDALL-GRUNDY-WILL-KANKAKEE-LIVINGSTON-IROQUOIS-FORD- LAKE IN-PORTER-NEWTON-JASPER-BENTON- 600 AM CDT FRI JUN 11 2004 THIS PORTION OF THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS...AND NORTHWEST INDIANA. .DAY ONE... TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A STATIONARY FRONT ACROSS NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA WILL PROVIDE A BOUNDARY FOR DESTABILIZATION TODAY. THESE STORMS COULD CONTINUE INTO THE NIGHTTIME HOURS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THUNDERSTORMS ARE AGAIN PROGGED SATURDAY...SUNDAY...SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY NIGHT. THE STORMS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY COULD ALSO BE SEVERE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. && COMPLETE FORECAST INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE: WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/LOT (LOWER CASE) LMZ740>746-766-121100- WINTHROP HARBOR IL TO NEW BUFFALO MI- LAKE MICHIGAN- 600 AM CDT FRI JUN 11 2004 THIS PORTION OF THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE ILLINOIS AND INDIANA WATERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE... TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY...SUNDAY...SUNDAY NIGHT...AND MONDAY NIGHT. && COMPLETE FORECAST INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE: WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/LOT (LOWER CASE)
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Long term flooding occurred due to sustained heavy rain over the Iroquois River and Sugar Creek basins.
Long term flooding occurred due to sustained heavy rainfall over the Kankakee river basin.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, June 2004
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: 5407282, 5407283.