8 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 31, 9:45 AM CST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 1045 AM CDT WED MAY 31 2006 .UPDATE... SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS WEAK QUASI-STATIONARY BOUNDARY SNAKED NE/SW ACROSS CENTRAL ILLINOIS THIS MORNING. NOT MUCH OF AN AIRMASS CHANGE BEHIND THIS FEATURE... UNTIL YOU GET UP INTO MINNESOTA/WISCONSIN. ACROSS OUR AREA... THIS BOUNDARY IS DEFINED BY LITTLE MORE THAN A WIND SHIFT LINE... WITH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE POOLING OUT AHEAD OF IT. MEANWHILE... ANOTHER REMNANT MCV/MESOLOW IS ALONG THE FRONT OVER NORTH CENTRAL MISSOURI... THIS FEATURE IS NEARLY STATIONARY... BUT MAY DRIFT WESTWARD IN TIME... WHILE THE FRONT SLOWLY SLIDES SOUTHWARD. CONVECTIVE DEBRIS A PROBLEM ONCE AGAIN... AND IT IS BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE YESTERDAY WHEN CONVECTION DID NOT FIRE UNTIL AFTER 3 PM. MODIFIED 12Z ILX SOUNDING... AS WELL RUC FORECAST SOUNDINGS... INDICATE INSTABILITY WILL BE WEAKER THAN YESTERDAY... ON THE ORDER OF 1200 J/KG. RUC HAS DONE A GOOD JOB OVER THE PAST TWO DAYS... WHICH LENDS IT SOME CREDENCE. IT SEEMS TO HAVE ANALYSED THE BOUNDARY WELL... AND CAUGHT ON TO THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE/THETA-E POOLING AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS THE MOST CLEARING IS ALSO ACROSS THIS AREA... ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO CLIMB PRETTY QUICKLY. BASED ON THESE TRENDS... WILL RE-ADJUST POPS TO FOCUS THEM ALONG/AHEAD OF OUR BOUNDARY FOR THIS AFTERNOON. SATELLITE IMAGERY HINTS AT A FEW CU LINES FINALLY DEVELOPING IN OUR CLEARING AREA WHERE THE MOISTURE IS POOLED UP. MAX TEMPS WILL BE KEPT ROUGHLY THE SAME... JUST INCREASING A FEW DEGREES IN THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST CONSIDERING THE PARTIAL CLEARING. UPDATED ZFP WILL BE OUT IN JUST A BIT. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 230AM CDT WED MAY 31 2006/ MAIN FORECAST CONCERN WILL CONTINUE TO BE POPS...AS COLD FRONT SLOWLY MOVES THROUGH THE AREA OVER THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS. 06Z SURFACE CHART SHOWS NEARLY STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY STRETCHING FROM THE GREAT LAKES INTO NORTHERN MISSOURI. AHEAD OF THE FRONT...OLD OUTFLOW BOUNDARY EVIDENT FROM NEAR CHICAGO SOUTHWESTWARD TO COLUMBIA MISSOURI. ALOFT...UPPER RIDGING STILL PREVAILS ACROSS THE EASTERN CONUS...HOWEVER RIDGE IS BEGINNING TO GET FLATTENED SOMEWHAT...AS SEVERAL WEAK IMPULSES TRACK E/NE ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND SOUTHERN CANADA. SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY... FRONT PROGGED TO SLOWLY DROP INTO CENTRAL ILLINOIS LATER TODAY...SETTING THE STAGE FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. WITH FRONT AND OUTFLOW BOUNDARY IN THE VICINITY...AREAL COVERAGE OF PRECIP LOOKS TO BE GREATER TODAY THAN IT HAS BEEN THE PAST TWO DAYS. WILL GO WITH LIKELY POPS ACROSS MUCH OF THE KILX CWA...EXCEPT ACROSS THE FAR E AND SE...FURTHER AWAY FROM THE BEST FOCUSING MECHANISMS. WITH INCREASED CLOUD COVER AND RAIN CHANCES TODAY...HIGH TEMPS WILL BE HELD DOWN SEVERAL DEGREES. 00Z NUMERIC GUIDANCE LOOKS TOO COOL...SO WILL GO A FEW DEGREES ABOVE...WITH HIGHS MAINLY IN THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 80S. FRONT CONTINUES ITS GRADUAL SOUTHWARD PROGRESSION TONIGHT...REACHING THE I-70 CORRIDOR BY 12Z THU. PRECIP ACROSS THE MIDWEST/PLAINS HAS BEEN LARGELY DIURNAL FOR THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS...EVEN IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONT. WILL THEREFORE LOWER POPS TO 40 ACROSS THE BOARD TONIGHT. MODELS CONTINUE TO INDICATE BOUNDARY HANGING AROUND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY THURSDAY. WILL ADJUST POPS TO INCLUDE MENTION OF MORNING PRECIP CHANCES ACROSS THE CENTRAL ZONES...LINGERING INTO THE AFTERNOON ACROSS THE SE. LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY... IN THE EXTENDED...NW UPPER FLOW PATTERN PREVAILS ACROSS THE MIDWEST THIS WEEKEND...WITH RIDGING SLOWLY BUILDING BACK INTO THE REGION BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. BIG QUESTION OVER THE WEEKEND WILL BE WHETHER OR NOT SHORT-WAVE ENERGY RIDING UP AND OVER DEVELOPING CENTRAL PLAINS RIDGE WILL AFFECT THE WEATHER ACROSS ILLINOIS. MODELS STILL IN DISAGREEMENT WITH THE FINER DETAILS...BUT THE OVERALL TREND LOOKS DRY THROUGH MONDAY. AFTER THAT...ECMWF/GFS BOTH DROP A MORE SIGNIFICANT WAVE AND ACCOMPANYING COLD FRONT INTO THE GREAT LAKES ON TUESDAY. WILL INCREASE CLOUD COVER AND INTRODUCE A 20 POP AT THAT TIME. NO OTHER CHANGES MADE TO THE EXTENDED. && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && HARDIMAN/BARNES
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 1120 AM CDT WED MAY 31 2006 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-011100- KNOX-STARK-PEORIA-MARSHALL-WOODFORD-FULTON-TAZEWELL-MCLEAN- SCHUYLER-MASON-LOGAN-DE WITT-PIATT-CHAMPAIGN-VERMILION-CASS- MENARD-SCOTT-MORGAN-SANGAMON-CHRISTIAN-MACON-MOULTRIE-DOUGLAS- COLES-EDGAR-SHELBY-CUMBERLAND-CLARK-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-CRAWFORD- CLAY-RICHLAND-LAWRENCE- 1120 AM CDT WED MAY 31 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT HAS MOVED INTO THE AREA AND WILL COMBINE WITH THE WARM AND MOIST AIR TO PRODUCE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE REGION TODAY AND INTO TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH THE MAIN THREAT BEING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. THE MOST LIKELY AREAS FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE IN A BAND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM BLOOMINGTON TO HAVANA... AND NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE 70 CORRIDOR... INCLUDING CITIES AND TOWNS ALONG THE I-72 CORRIDOR. SKIES HAVE SHOWN SOME PARTIAL CLEARING WITHIN THIS BAND... WHICH IS JUST AHEAD OF THE FRONT. SURFACE OBSERVATIONS INDICATE MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY HAS BEEN POOLING IN THIS AREA AS WELL. STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO BE SCATTERED... AND RATHER LOCALIZED... SIMILAR TO THE PAST FEW DAYS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THE COLD FRONT WILL SLOWLY MOVE THROUGH THE AREA ON THURSDAY AND BRING ONE MORE DAY OF SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TO CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. HOWEVER...THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BECOME SEVERE AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THIS EVENING. HARDIMAN
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:20 UTC.
8 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
The tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
The tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
The tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
The tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
The tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
The tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
The tornado briefly touched down in a field. No damage or injuries were reported.
A few large trees were blown down.
A man was slightly injured by lightning on the east side of Decatur when the car he was riding in was struck.
Very heavy rain fell in a short period of time over portions of Springfield. Two feet of water was reported over the intersection of MacArthur and Williams Boulevards. Sections of Koke Mill road were closed on the west side of town due to water flowing over the road. Numerous viaducts in town were reported flooded.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 2006Warnings in Illinois, May 2006
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: 5510751, 5510752, 5510753, 5510754, 5510755, 5510756, 5510757, 5510758, 5510759, 5510760, 5510761.