Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 11, 2005

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 11, 2005
Start: 2005-05-11T19:20
End: 2005-05-11T19:27
Location: Illinois

May 11, 2005 · NWS LSX · 4 events in 1 county or zone

A couple of severe thunderstorms produced hail and strong wind gusts across Montgomery County. Amateur radio spotters reported a tree on a house in Taylor Springs.

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: 4

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.

A couple of severe thunderstorms produced hail and strong wind gusts across Montgomery County. Amateur radio spotters reported a tree on a house in Taylor Springs. The automated surface system at the Litchfield Airport recorded a 60 mph wind gust. Hail up to 1 inch in diameter was reported near Honey Bend and in Litchfield.

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 May 11, 2:10 PM CST, 5 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 11, 2:10 PM CST, 5 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
310 PM CDT WED MAY 11 2005

.DISCUSSION...

IMPRESSIVE BOUNDARY HAS SET UP ACRS MIDWEST INCLUDING NRN MO EAST
INTO CNTRL IL.  TSTMS HAVE BROKEN OUT ALG OLD OUTFLOW BNDRY FROM
LAST NIGHTS MCS AND NMRS STORMS HAVE HAIL IN THEM ALREADY.  LOOKS
LIKE AN ACTIVE NGT FOR SVR WX. HAD THOUGHTS OF A FLOOD WATCH FOR
NRN COUNTIES BUT SOME OF THE MODELS HAVE THE FRONT RETREATING
NORTH WITH PCPN ACTIVITY NORTH OF OUR AREA SO WILL WAIT SO SEE
WHAT EVOLVES.

DEEP CLOSD LOW OVR CNTRL ROCKIES FCST TO EJECT NEWD WITH A FEW
SHORT WAVES LIFTING NEWD IN FRONT OF IT.  SOME STORMS WILL BE
SVR THIS EVE BUT 70 PLUS DWPTS HAVE BEEN POOLING ALONG THE FRONT
AND PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES ARE 1.25 TO 1.50 SO PCPN PRODUCTION
WILL BE VERY EFFICIENT.

TOO BUSY WITH SVR WX TO DISCUSS ADDITIONAL PERIODS ATTM.

&&

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

&&

PEDIGO

Hazardous weather outlook, May 11, 2:15 PM CST, 5 hours 5 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
315 PM CDT WED MAY 11 2005

ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027-
034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-121100-
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-
315 PM CDT WED MAY 11 2005

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

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING AND
TONIGHT. THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE LARGE HAIL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY
THERE WILL BE A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN ON THURSDAY AND
FRIDAY.  THE THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER CONTINUES FOR BOTH DAYS WITH
THE PRIMARY THREAT BEING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

MORE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

STORM SPOTTERS SHOULD STAND READY TO REPORT SEVERE WEATHER TO THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT.

CARNEY

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 11, 5:36 PM CST, 1 hour 44 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
636 PM CDT WED MAY 11 2005

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

0630 PM     HAIL             HAWK POINT              38.97N 91.13W
05/11/2005  1.00 INCH        LINCOLN            MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

TES

Local storm report, May 11, 5:41 PM CST, 1 hour 39 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
641 PM CDT WED MAY 11 2005

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

0635 PM     HAIL             TROY                    38.98N 90.98W
05/11/2005  0.88 INCH        LINCOLN            MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

TES

Local storm report, May 11, 5:53 PM CST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
653 PM CDT WED MAY 11 2005

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

0635 PM     TORNADO          PALOMA                  40.02N 91.20W
05/11/2005                   ADAMS              IL   PUBLIC

            UNCONFIRMED REPORT.

&&

TES

Local storm report, May 11, 5:59 PM CST, 1 hour 21 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
659 PM CDT WED MAY 11 2005

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

0635 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     LIBERTY                 39.88N 91.11W
05/11/2005                   ADAMS              IL   PUBLIC

&&

TES

Local storm report, May 11, 7:08 PM CST, 12 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
808 PM CDT WED MAY 11 2005

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

0800 PM     HAIL             PALMYRA                 39.43N 90.00W
05/11/2005  0.88 INCH        MACOUPIN           IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

STRUETT

Local storm report, May 11, 7:20 PM CST, 0 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
820 PM CDT WED MAY 11 2005

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

0810 PM     HAIL             GIRARD                  39.45N 89.78W
05/11/2005  0.50 INCH        MACOUPIN           IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

0810 PM     HAIL             WOBURN                  38.96N 89.35W
05/11/2005  0.88 INCH        BOND               IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

STRUETT

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:22 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Montgomery

When: May 11, 7:20 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County, Litchfield
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 39.183, -89.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery

When: May 11, 7:20 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County, Taylor Spgs
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 39.133, -89.483

Hail, Montgomery

When: May 11, 7:25 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County, 5 mi W of Honey Bend
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 39.250, -89.733

Thunderstorm Wind, Montgomery

When: May 11, 7:27 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County, Litchfield Muni Arpt
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.167, -89.667

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Illinois, May 2005

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: 5445661, 5445662, 5445663, 5445664.