A small bowing segment of thunderstorms moved into the upper Illinois River valley from the northwest during the evening of 8/13. One of the thunderstorms produced a lightning strike which struck two houses, setting them ablaze, in the city of Peoria.
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The episode as NWS ILX wrote it up.
A small bowing segment of thunderstorms moved into the upper Illinois River valley from the northwest during the evening of 8/13. One of the thunderstorms produced a lightning strike which struck two houses, setting them ablaze, in the city of Peoria. The occupants were able to flee without injury.
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 Aug 13, 5:55 PM CST, 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 655 PM CDT WED AUG 13 2008 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 137 PM CDT WED AUG 13 2008 SHORT TERM MODELS SHOW SOME AGREEMENT WITH THE CHANGING OF THE OVERALL PATTERN. HOWEVER...THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES ON THE SFC BY FRIDAY. NAM KEEPS THE SFC LOW FURTHER BACK IN THE WESTERN PLAINS WHILE THE GFS PUSHES IT OUT MORE EAST INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS. 12Z GFS IS FIRST TIME FOR THIS SO HESITANT TO AGREE WITH AT THIS TIME SINCE IT AFFECTS CHC OF PCPN. SO WILL TAKE A BLEND IN THE SHORT TERM FOR NOW. MAIN CONCERNS WILL BE CHC OF PCPN TOMORROW AND THEN AGAIN INTO THE WEEKEND. IN THE LONG TERM THE MODELS SHOW SOME AGREEMENT WITH THE HANDLING OF A CUT OFF LOW OUT WEST THAT SLOWLY DRIFTS EAST BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK. THE UPPER LEVEL PATTERNS OF THE GFS/ECMWF/DGEX LOOK SIMILAR WHILE THE SFC PATTERNS LOOK VERY DIFFERENT. WILL LIKELY FOLLOW ECMWF/GFS BLEND. MAIN CONCERNS IN THE LONG TERM WILL BE CHC OF PCPN THROUGH THE PERIOD AND RESULTING DAYTIME TEMPS. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT WEAK SFC TROUGH...AND CORRESPONDING 500MB TROUGH...IS KICKING OFF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHERN WI THIS AFTERNOON. MID LEVEL TEMPS COOLER WITH THIS TROUGH PROVIDING SLIGHTLY STEEPER LAPSE RATES. MODELS AGREE THAT THIS SAME TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED COOLER MID LVL TEMPS WILL DROP INTO THE REGION TONIGHT AND INTO TOMORROW. SO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA...WITH ISOLATED IN THE SOUTHEAST. FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THE SCATTERED STORMS IN SOUTHERN WI TODAY AND NON-SUPERCELL TORNADO PARAMETERS FROM THE MODELS INDICATE ENVIRONMENT WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR COLD AIR FUNNELS AGAIN TOMORROW IN CENTRAL IL. IF LATER MODEL RUNS INDICATE ENVIRONMENT STILL FAVORABLE TOMORROW...WILL THEN INCLUDE IN HWO. THEN MID LEVEL TROUGH WILL PUSH TOWARD THE EASTERN US WITH A CUT OFF LOW FORMING IN THE WESTERN PLAINS/EASTERN ROCKIES. REMAINDER OF PERIOD AFTER TOMORROW SHOULD BE DRY BUT WITH SOME INDICATION FROM THE MODELS THAT A PSEUDO WARM FRONT OR INVERTED TROUGH WILL BE LOCATED IN THE CENTRAL PLAINS INTO THE WEEKEND. THIS WILL ACT AS THE FOCUS FOR MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT IN THE WEEKEND. CONFIDENCE NOT REAL HIGH GIVEN MODELS DISAGREEMENT ON IT SO WILL JUST A SLIGHT CHC IN THE GRIDS FOR NOW...WHICH WILL NOT BE MENTIONED IN THE WORDING. TEMPS STAY BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR AND PATTERN INDICATES THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE. MODEL GUIDANCE LOOKS REASONABLE. LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY THE CUTOFF WILL BEGIN TO SLOW MOVE EAST INTO THE PLAINS AND THEN GET CAUGHT BACK UP INTO THE MID LEVEL PATTERN FOR NEXT WEEK. HOWEVER ITS MOVEMENT NEXT WEEK WILL REMAIN SLOW. ON THE SFC...SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE PERIOD AND THIS WILL BRING THE RETURN OF LOW LVL MOISTURE TO THE AREA. THE SLOW MOVEMENT OF THIS SYSTEM AND ANY ASSOCIATED FRONTAL BOUNDARIES...COMBINED WITH THE MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW...MEANS THAT PCPN CHANCES ARE WARRANTED FOR ENTIRE PERIOD. LIKELY WILL BE SOME BREAKS BUT HARD TO TIME THEM THIS FAR OUT. WILL LET LATER FCST REFINE THE DETAILS AS THEY BECOME KNOWN. TEMPS WILL BE TRICKY AS MODEL GUIDANCE INDICATES NORMAL TEMPS IN THE MIDDLE 80S. HOWEVER...FCST OF CLOUD COVER AND PCPN WOULD INDICATE COOLER TEMPS...SO HAVE GONE ONE CATEGORY LOWER THAN 00Z MEX GUIDANCE. NEW MEX GUIDANCE LOOKS REASONABLE WITH TEMPS. AUTEN && .AVIATION... ISSUED 655 PM CDT WED AUG 13 2008 A FEW...MAINLY DIURNALLY DRIVEN...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS DRIFTING SOUTH INTO CENTRAL ILLINOIS MAY IMPACT KPIA AND KBMI THIS EVENING BEFORE DISSIPATING. OTHERWISE...MAINLY QUIET CONDITIONS EXPECTED UNTIL MIDDAY THURSDAY. HOWEVER...A FEW HOURS OF MVFR/IFR FOG ARE LIKELY LATE TONIGHT/EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. AN UPPER DISTURBANCE WILL PUSH THROUGH THE REGION THURSDAY AFTERNOON...AND COINCIDE WITH PEAK DIURNAL HEATING...LIKELY KICKING OFF SCATTERED SHOWERS/STORMS. THE DETAILS ARE TOUGH TO PIN POINT AT THIS TIME...SO WILL ONLY CARRY VCTS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. BAK && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 321 PM CDT WED AUG 13 2008 ILZ042>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-141100- CASS-CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND- DE WITT-DOUGLAS-EDGAR-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-LOGAN-MACON- MENARD-MORGAN-MOULTRIE-PIATT-RICHLAND-SANGAMON-SCOTT-SHELBY- VERMILION- 321 PM CDT WED AUG 13 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THURSDAY. THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF COLD AIR ALOFT...THE POSSIBILITY EXISTS FOR COLD AIR FUNNELS ON THURSDAY. COLD AIR FUNNELS RARELY TOUCH THE GROUND. THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SUNDAY EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. ILZ027>031-036>038-040-041-141100- FULTON-KNOX-MARSHALL-MASON-MCLEAN-PEORIA-SCHUYLER-STARK-TAZEWELL- WOODFORD- 321 PM CDT WED AUG 13 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT. HOWEVER...ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BECOME SEVERE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THURSDAY. THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF COLD AIR ALOFT...THE POSSIBILITY EXISTS FOR COLD AIR FUNNELS ON THURSDAY. COLD AIR FUNNELS RARELY TOUCH THE GROUND. THE NEXT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SUNDAY EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. KELLY
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:20 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck two houses in the same neighborhood in the far northern sections of the city of Peoria. Both houses were set on fire as a result of the lightning. One house had minor damage to the roof and siding, while the other house lost the entire roof. There were no injuries.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, August 2008
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: 129277.