Funnel Clouds in Illinois, October 26, 2004

Name: Funnel Clouds in Illinois, October 26, 2004
Start: 2004-10-26T16:40
End: 2004-10-26T18:10
Location: Illinois

October 26, 2004 · NWS PAH · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The funnel clouds over southern Illinois were associated with a supercell thunderstorm that began in southeast Missouri and moved east along a warm front. The storm showed signs of strong rotation as it moved east across Alexander, Pulaski, and Massac Counties.

Where it happened

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.

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: 2

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 PAH wrote it up.

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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 26, 1:45 PM CST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 26, 1:45 PM CST, 2 hours 55 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
245 PM CDT TUE OCT 26 2004

.DISCUSSION...

ACTIVE PATTERN TO CONTINUE. BIGGEST CHALLENGES WITH THIS PACKAGE
CONTINUE TO BE WHEN TO TURN THE PRECIP FAUCET ON AND OFF OVER THE
NEXT SEVEN DAYS.

UPPER RIDGE TO REMAIN OVER THE CWA THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE
FORECAST CYCLE...BUT UNFORTUNATELY NOT AMPLIFIED ENOUGH TO DEFLECT
ENERGY/MOISTURE/PRECIP TO OUR NORTH. AT PRESS TIME A WEAK WARM FRONT
WAS LOCATED OVER THE NORTHEAST SECTIONS OF THE CWA AND LIFTING
NORTHEAST AS A SURFACE LOW AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT SAGGED SLOWLY
SOUTHEAST TOWARD THE AREA. OVERNIGHT MOST OF THE REGION WILL BE IN
THE WARM SECTOR WITH SCATTERED CONVECTION POSSIBLE WITH THE
EXCEPTION OF THE NORTHERN SECTIONS WHERE HIGHER CHANCES FOR PRECIP
CAN BE EXPECTED WITH APPROACHING LOW/FRONT. THE FRONT IS FORECAST TO
BECOME STATIONARY ALONG OR NEAR THE TN/KY BORDER ON WEDNESDAY...SO
WILL KEEP POPS IN ALL DAY. WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY THE
STATIONARY FRONT WILL LIFT NORTHEAST ACROSS THE CWA IN RESPONSE TO A
DEVELOPING SFC LOW OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS WHICH WILL SPREAD PRECIP
BACK ACROSS THE CWA. THE CWA WILL BE BACK IN THE WARM SECTOR ON
FRIDAY SO SCATTERED CONVECTION CAN AGAIN BE EXPECTED. FRIDAY NIGHT
INTO SATURDAY A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS THE REGION SO WILL KEEP POPS
THERE AS WELL. THIS FRONT IS ALSO FORECAST TO BECOME STATIONARY JUST
SOUTH OF OUR CWA SATURDAY NIGHT AND RETURN BACK NORTHWARD AS A WARM
FRONT SUNDAY NIGHT AS ANOTHER SURFACE LOWS DEVELOPS OVER THE PLAINS.
THIS VERY STRONG LOW IS FORECAST TO PULL A STRONG COLD FRONT ACROSS
THE CWA ON MONDAY. COULD GET VERY INTERESTING ON MONDAY IF ALL
PARAMETERS COME TOGETHER. WILL KEEP LOWER POPS IN MONDAY NIGHT DUE
TO TIMING UNCERTAINTIES AND WRAPAROUND MOISTURE ON THE BACK SIDE OF
THIS SYSTEM. ON TUESDAY COOL AND DRY CONDITIONS SHOULD PREVAIL AS
HIGH PRESSURE OVERSPREADS THE REGION.

USED A MULTI MOS BLEND FOR TEMPS.

&&

.PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KY...NONE.
MO...NONE.
IL...NONE.
IN...NONE.

&&

JAP

Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 26, 3:40 AM CST, 13 hours before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
440 AM CDT TUE OCT 26 2004

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-100-
107>112-114-271000-
ALEXANDER IL-BALLARD KY-BOLLINGER MO-BUTLER MO-CALDWELL KY-
CALLOWAY KY-CAPE GIRARDEAU MO-CARLISLE KY-CARTER MO-CHRISTIAN KY-
CRITTENDEN KY-DAVIESS KY-EDWARDS IL-FRANKLIN IL-FULTON KY-
GALLATIN IL-GIBSON IN-GRAVES KY-HAMILTON IL-HARDIN IL-HENDERSON KY-
HICKMAN KY-HOPKINS KY-JACKSON IL-JEFFERSON IL-JOHNSON IL-
LIVINGSTON KY-LYON KY-MARSHALL KY-MASSAC IL-MCCRACKEN KY-MCLEAN KY-
MISSISSIPPI MO-MUHLENBERG KY-NEW MADRID MO-PERRY MO-PERRY IL-PIKE IN-
POPE IL-POSEY IN-PULASKI IL-RIPLEY MO-SALINE IL-SCOTT MO-SPENCER IN-
STODDARD MO-TODD KY-TRIGG KY-UNION KY-UNION IL-VANDERBURGH IN-
WABASH IL-WARRICK IN-WAYNE MO-WAYNE IL-WEBSTER KY-WHITE IL-
WILLIAMSON IL-
440 AM CDT TUE OCT 26 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...AND WESTERN KENTUCKY.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE QUAD STATE. SEVERE
WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ALMOST DAILY THROUGH THE PERIOD.
HOWEVER...WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 26, 4:19 PM CST, 21 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
519 PM CDT TUE OCT 26 2004

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

0516 PM     TORNADO          4 W COMMERCE            37.16N 89.52W
10/26/2004                   SCOTT              MO   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TORNADO REPORTED CROSSING INTERSTATE 55.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Oct 26, 4:27 PM CST, 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
527 PM CDT TUE OCT 26 2004

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

0522 PM     TSTM WND GST     NEW HAMBURG             37.13N 89.59W
10/26/2004  0 MPH            SCOTT              MO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            UNSPECIFIED DAMAGE REPORTED IN THE COMMUNITY OF NEW
            HAMBURG.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Oct 26, 4:35 PM CST, 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT ... CORRECTION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
535 PM CDT TUE OCT 26 2004

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

0522 PM     TSTM WND GST     NEW HAMBURG             37.13N 89.59W
10/26/2004  0 MPH            SCOTT              MO   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            UNSPECIFIED DAMAGE REPORTED IN THE COMMUNITY OF NEW
            HAMBURG. UPDATE AT 535 PM...ROOFS...ELECTIC POLES DOWN
            AND BARNS DAMAGED THROUGHOUT COMMUNITY.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Oct 26, 4:40 PM CST, 0 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
540 PM CDT TUE OCT 26 2004

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

0540 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     2 S OLIVE BRANCH        37.14N 89.35W
10/26/2004                   ALEXANDER          IL   PUBLIC

            REPORTED OVER HORSESHOE LAKE.

&&

SMITTY

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 52 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:40 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Funnel Cloud, Alexander

When: October 26, 4:40 PM CST
Where: Alexander County, Miller City
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 37.192, -89.338 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Funnel Cloud, Massac

When: October 26, 6:10 PM CST
Where: Massac County, 4 mi NE of Unionville
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 37.219, -88.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Funnel Cloud: A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5423896, 5423895.