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 12, 1:00 PM CST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 200 PM CDT WED MAY 12 2004 .DISCUSSION...ANOTHER DAY OF UNSEASONABLY WARM AND HUMID WEATHER ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. BROAD SOUTHERLY FLOW PERSISTS ACROSS THE REGION IN THE WARM SECTOR OF AN APPROACHING SYSTEM...WITH THE SURFACE LOW CURRENTLY OVER NORTHERN MINNESOTA AND THE TRAILING COLD FRONT EXTENDING SOUTH INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS REVOLVE AROUND SHOWER/STORM CHANCES UNTIL THE FRONT PASSES THROUGH ON FRIDAY. 12Z MODELS IN GOOD OVERALL AGREEMENT THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH ONLY A MINIMAL DIFFERENCE IN FROPA SPEED ON FRIDAY COMPARED TO YESTERDAY. WILL FOLLOW THE ETA FOR THE DETAILS...BUT THIS WILL NOT RESULT IN A MUCH DIFFERENT FORECAST SOLUTION THAN WOULD BE ACHIEVED WITH ANY OTHER MODEL. GUIDANCE TEMPERATURES CLOSE/REASONABLE...SO WILL NOT STRAY TOO FAR. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY... TONIGHT...SHEARED UPPER WAVE WILL PASS THROUGH FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING. ITS DEPARTURE AND THE LOSS OF DIURNAL INSTABILITY (CURRENTLY YIELDING SURFACE BASED CAPE VALUES AROUND 1000-1500 J/KG AND LI VALUES AROUND -4) SHOULD RESULT IN THE BULK OF THE SHOWERS/STORMS ENDING ACROSS THE REGION BY MIDNIGHT. THURSDAY...WHILE WARM/MOIST/DIURNALLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL PERSIST OVER FORECAST AREA...STILL NOT MUCH TO HANG YOUR HAT ON AS FAR AS AN UPPER AND/OR SURFACE FEATURE TO FOCUS CONVECTION. THAT BEING SAID... WILL MAINTAIN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS/STORMS (MAINLY IN THE AFTERNOON) BASED ON SIMILAR OCCURRENCES OVER RECENT DAYS. THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...CONFIDENCE IS GROWING IN THE POTENTIAL FOR A HEAVY RAIN EVENT AS THE SLOW MOVING UPPER WAVE/SURFACE FRONT FINALLY MAKE THEIR WAY THROUGH ILLINOIS. CONFIDENCE IN THE TIMING OF THE HEAVY RAIN THREAT IS GROWING AS WELL...WITH 06-18Z FRIDAY LOOKING LIKE THE BEST WINDOW AT THIS TIME. SLOW MOVING BOUNDARY WILL BE INTERACTING WITH JUICY AIRMASS THAT HAS BEEN IN PLACE (WITH PRECIPITABLE H2O VALUES AROUND 1.5 INCHES ALONG/AHEAD OF FRONT). WHILE BEST DYNAMICS WILL BE SHEARING TO THE NORTH OF ILLINOIS...WE WILL STILL BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE RRQ OF THE UPPER JET AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH. THE TIMING OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE... UNIDIRECTIONAL WIND FIELDS...DEEP MOISTURE AND RESULTING MARGINAL LAPSE RATES ARE NOT ESPECIALLY SUPPORTIVE OF SEVERE WEATHER WITH THE FRONT. FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...MUCH COOLER AND DRIER AIR SURGE INTO REGION BEHIND COLD FRONT AS ZONAL FLOW ALOFT AND A SURFACE HIGH BUILD IN. LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...MODEL/ENSEMBLE AGREEMENT IS NOT THE BEST AGAIN TODAY...AS THEY CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH THE GENERALLY UNSETTLED PATTERN ACROSS MUCH OF THE UNITED STATES. THE PERIOD WILL BE DOMINATED BY A FRONTAL BOUNDARY IN THE VICINITY OF ILLINOIS (AS HAS BEEN THE CASE FREQUENTLY LATELY)...AND A RELATIVELY ZONAL FLOW ALOFT WITH NUMEROUS WEAK (AND TOUGH TO TIME) IMPULSES. ON SUNDAY THE BOUNDARY SHOULD REMAIN SOUTH OF FORECAST AREA...BUT RETURN FLOW DEVELOPS BY MONDAY LIFTING THE BOUNDARY BACK INTO THE STATE. THE FRONT MOVES BACK SOUTH THROUGH ILLINOIS ON TUESDAY AND STALLS OUT OVER THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE STATE. HAVE MAINTAINED A DRY FORECAST FOR SUNDAY AND MONDAY...THOUGH MONDAY IS LOOKING A BIT SHAKY AT THIS POINT (MODEL DISAGREEMENT SUPPORTS LEAVING THINGS ALONE AT THE MOMENT). HAVE CARRIED A CHANCE OF SHOWERS/STORMS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WITH THE FRONT NEARBY. && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...NONE. && BAK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 1132 AM CDT WED MAY 12 2004 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-131100- CASS-CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND- DE WITT-DOUGLAS-EDGAR-EFFINGHAM-FULTON-JASPER-KNOX-LAWRENCE-LOGAN- MACON-MARSHALL-MASON-MCLEAN-MENARD-MORGAN-MOULTRIE-PEORIA-PIATT- RICHLAND-SANGAMON-SCHUYLER-SCOTT-SHELBY-STARK-TAZEWELL-VERMILION- WOODFORD- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BLOOMINGTON...CHAMPAIGN...DANVILLE... DECATUR...EFFINGHAM...FLORA...GALESBURG...HAVANA...JACKSONVILLE... LAWRENCEVILLE...LINCOLN...MATTOON...PEORIA...SHELBYVILLE... SPRINGFIELD AND TAYLORVILLE 1132 AM CDT WED MAY 12 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THE THREAT FOR SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE THIS AFTERNOON. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP LATER TODAY MAY PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY RAINS...SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS...HOWEVER...NO ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED ACROSS CENTRAL OR SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING HOURS WITH A GRADUAL DECREASE IN COVERAGE EXPECTED AFTER MIDNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A STRONG COLD FRONT IS FORECAST TO APPROACH THE AREA LATE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. THE CHANCES FOR MORE ORGANIZED STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL INCREASE AS THE FRONT DRAWS CLOSER TO THE AREA. PRESENT INDICATIONS SUGGEST THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS LATER ON THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT WOULD BE FROM GUSTY WINDS...HEAVY RAINFALL AND HAIL. AS THE FRONT PUSHES EAST OF THE STATE LATE FRIDAY...THE THREAT FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL SHIFT TO OUR EAST. ANOTHER FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL APPROACH THE AREA LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK INCREASING THE CHANCES FOR ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .SPOTTER ACTIVATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT...BUT MAY BE NEEDED LATE TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND EVENING...ESPECIALLY WEST OF A SPRINGFIELD TO PEORIA LINE. && THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGIC AND CLIMATE INFORMATION...IS AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT: HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/ILX. THIS ADDRESS IS ALL IN LOWER CASE. BYRD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds blew down a tree onto a house on the northeast side of Arthur. Only minor damage to the house. No injuries were reported.
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, May 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: 5400677.