Hail in Illinois, October 18, 2004

Name: Hail in Illinois, October 18, 2004
Start: 2004-10-18T17:33
End: 2004-10-18T17:34
Location: Illinois

October 18, 2004 · NWS LSX · 3 events in 1 county or zone

Storm spotters and local law enforcement reported hail up to golfball size in the Litchfield area.

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: 3

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 LSX wrote it up.

Storm spotters and local law enforcement reported hail up to golfball size in the Litchfield area.

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 St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 18, 2:30 PM CST, 3 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 18, 2:30 PM CST, 3 hours 3 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
330 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004

.DISCUSSION...
ABBREVIATED DISC...SVR WX THRT WL CONT INTO E HALF OF CWA THIS EVE.
DUE TO HVY RAINS OF THIS MRNG...AND STMS TRYING TO TRAIN IN VCNTY OF
WRMFNT...WL ISSUE FLOOD WATCH THROUGH 05Z FOR E 6 COUNTIES.

WL TRY TO GET ADDL DISC ISSUED LATER ON.

&&

.LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MO...NONE.
IL...NONE.

&&

TRUETT

Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 18, 11:30 AM CST, 6 hours 3 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
1230 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004

ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027-
034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-191100-
ADAMS IL-AUDRAIN-BOND IL-BOONE-BROWN-CALHOUN IL-CALLAWAY-CLINTON IL-
COLE-CRAWFORD-FAYETTE IL-FRANKLIN-GASCONADE-GREENE IL-IRON-JEFFERSON-
JERSEY IL-KNOX-LEWIS-LINCOLN-MACOUPIN IL-MADISON-MADISON IL-MARION-
MARION IL-MONITEAU-MONROE-MONROE IL-MONTGOMERY-MONTGOMERY IL-OSAGE-
PIKE-PIKE IL-RALLS-RANDOLPH IL-REYNOLDS-SHELBY-ST CHARLES-
ST CLAIR IL-ST FRANCOIS-ST LOUIS-ST LOUIS CITY-STE GENEVIEVE-WARREN-
WASHINGTON-WASHINGTON IL-
500 AM CDT MON OCT 18 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN
MISSOURI AS WELL AS WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
EARLY TONIGHT ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN MISSOURI...AND WEST CENTRAL
AND SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS. WARM UNSTABLE AIR CONTINUES TO MOVE
NORTHWARD ACROSS SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL MISSOURI AHEAD OF A DRY LINE
WHICH HAS ENTERED SOUTHWEST MISSOURI. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE DRY LINE AND MOVE ACROSS
PARTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MISSOURI THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE
THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT. THE THREAT WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE
LARGE HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...ISOLATED TORNADOES AND DEADLY
LIGHTNING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AGAIN STARTING LATE WEDNESDAY AND
CONTINUING THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT AS THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM MOVES
ACROSS THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES.

.SPOTTER ACTIVATION STATEMENT...

STORM SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.

RP

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 18, 4:38 PM CST, 55 minutes before

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Local storm report, Oct 18, 5:11 PM CST, 22 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
611 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0554 PM     HAIL             7 W BUNKER HILL         39.04N 90.08W
10/18/2004  0.75 INCH        MACOUPIN           IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

0610 PM     HAIL             WALSHVILLE              39.07N 89.62W
10/18/2004  0.75 INCH        MONTGOMERY         IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

            DIME SIZED HAIL COVERING THE GROUND

&&

CARNEY

Local storm report, Oct 18, 5:20 PM CST, 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
620 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0610 PM     HAIL             WALSHVILLE              39.07N 89.62W
10/18/2004  0.75 INCH        MONTGOMERY         IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

CARNEY

Local storm report, Oct 18, 5:21 PM CST, 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
621 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0620 PM     HAIL             HILLSBORO               39.16N 89.48W
10/18/2004  1.00 INCH        MONTGOMERY         IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

CARNEY

Local storm report, Oct 18, 5:22 PM CST, 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
622 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0621 PM     HAIL             HILLSBORO               39.16N 89.48W
10/18/2004  0.25 INCH        MONTGOMERY         IL   LAW ENFORCEMENT

&&

CARNEY

Local storm report, Oct 18, 5:33 PM CST, 0 minutes before

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The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:32 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Montgomery

When: October 18, 5:33 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County, 3 mi NW of Litchfield
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.217, -89.683

Hail, Montgomery

When: October 18, 5:34 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County, Litchfield
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.183, -89.650

Hail, Montgomery

When: October 18, 5:34 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County, 5 mi N of Litchfield
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 39.250, -89.650

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, October 2004

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5424679, 5424680, 5424681.