1 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 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 Sep 19, 12:30 AM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL 130 AM CDT MON SEP 19 2005 .PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION FOR MORNING PACKAGE... MAIN CONCERN THIS PACKAGE THE TS COMING THRU TODAY. AT 05Z MAIN TS STILL WAY BACK IN W IA BUT SCATTERED STUFF DEVELOPING W OF MLI WITH A STRONG VORT LOBE IN CENTRAL IA WITH GOOD 850-700 WARM AIR ADVECTION. MODELS SHOW TWO ENERGY PACKAGES TO COME THRU NEXT 24 HOURS WITH TS CHANCES, THE ONE IN IA NOW AND ONE POSSIBLY THIS EVENING WITH SOME 850-700 COLD AIR ADVECTION ALOFT. LONGER RANGE PICTURE IS ONE OF CONTINUED WARM TEMPS WITH 850 TEMPS 12 OR HIGHER THRU PERIOD WITH ALMOST ALL 16 OR HIGHER AS JET HOLDS TO OUR N WITH A W FLOW AND BY END OF FORECAST TROF DIGS ALONG W COAST TO BRING OUR UPPER FLOW BACK TO SW. NEXT CHANCE OF PRECIP LOOKS THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. IN SHORT TERM LOOKS LIKE MAIN PUSH TS THRU IN MORNING ENDING BY MIDDAY THEN GOOD SUBSIDENCE BEHIND THE VORT LOBE. HOWEVER, BY EVENING THE NEXT WEAKER LOBE COMES OVERHEAD WITH THE FRONT STILL IN THE AREA AND STILL DECENT 925 CONVERGENCE INDICATED ON THE ETA, 700-500 LAPSE RATES OVER VERY UNSTABLE 7-7.5, WITH A DECENT NE-SW LOBE OF 100-850 MOISTURE CONVERGENCE ON ETA AND EVEN NGM, AND -7 LI ON GFS. SO WILL HAVE CATEGORIAL POPS THIS MORNING AND THEN CHANCE THIS EVENING WITH FROPA AND 2ND UPPER LEVEL TROF. THINKING OF LEAVING THE NW COUNTIES OUT OF THE EVE TS THREAT AS IT LOOKS MAIN CONVERGENCE AND LIFT JUST TO THE E OF THEM. LAST MINUTE DECISION ON THIS. TEMPERATURES REAL TRICKY TODAY DEPENDING ON SOON SUN COMES OUT BEHING THE FIRST BATCH OF TS. && .AVIATION... && .LOT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .IL...NONE. .IN...NONE. .LK MI...NONE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL 330 PM CDT SUN SEP 18 2005 ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>022-023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011- 019-191100- 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- 330 PM CDT SUN SEP 18 2005 THIS PORTION OF THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS...AND NORTHWEST INDIANA. .DAY ONE... TONIGHT THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT. NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY AND THERE IS SLIGHT RISK THAT A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY REACH SEVERE LIMITS MONDAY. THE GREATEST THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS. THERE IS ANOTHER CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED ON MONDAY. && COMPLETE FORECAST INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE: WEATHER.GOV/CHICAGO (LOWER CASE) LMZ740>745-766-191100- WINTHROP HARBOR IL TO MICHIGAN CITY IN- LAKE MICHIGAN- 330 PM CDT SUN SEP 18 2005 THIS PORTION OF THE HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE ILLINOIS AND INDIANA WATERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE... TONIGHT THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN AFTER MIDNIGHT. NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS MONDAY AND THERE IS SLIGHT RISK THAT A FEW OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY REACH SEVERE LIMITS MONDAY. THE GREATEST THREAT WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS. THERE IS ANOTHER CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED MONDAY EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. && COMPLETE FORECAST INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE: WEATHER.GOV/CHICAGO (LOWER CASE)
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:54 UTC.
1 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a the steeple of a church in Peru. Shards of wood and shingles were scattered around the church from the strike. Several pieces tore through the roof of the church.
A strong thunderstorm moved across south central McHenry county during the morning hours. Large trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Marengo, Lakewood and Crystal Lake. Trees 16-18 inches in diameter were blown down on the west side of Crystal Lake. Boats and picnic tables were moved. Some cars were damaged by falling tree limbs and one house was left uninhabitable.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, September 2005
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: 5476412, 5476411.