Thunderstorms developed ahead of a strong cold front in east central and southeast Illinois during the late afternoon and early evening. Isolated wind damage and heavy rain with flash flooding accompanied the front.
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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 episode as NWS ILX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed ahead of a strong cold front in east central and southeast Illinois during the late afternoon and early evening. Isolated wind damage and heavy rain with flash flooding accompanied the front.
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 Jul 12, 5:19 PM CST, 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 619 PM CDT SAT JUL 12 2008 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 145 PM CDT SAT JUL 12 2008 THE 18Z SFC MAP INDICATES A COLD FRONT STRETCHING FROM JUST EAST OF PEORIA SOUTHWEST TO NEAR JACKSONVILLE. THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY PRODUCED FROM THIS MRNGS CONVECTION HAS MADE IT TO JUST SOUTH OF OUR FCST AREA AND THAT FEATURE STRETCHES BACK NW INTO EAST CNTRL MO. WDLY SCATTERED CONVECTION WAS BEGINNING TO DEVELOP AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT WITH A CLUSTER OF STRONGER STORMS WEST OF ST LOUIS. LARGER AREA OF SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...ASSOCIATED WITH EXIT REGION OF JET STREAK ACRS THE NRN PLAINS WAS TRACKING EWD ACRS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER...JUST BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS WL BE WITH CONVECTION COVERAGE AND PLACEMENT EARLY THIS EVENING...ALONG WITH THE THREAT FOR ISOLD SEVERE WEATHER ACRS SE HALF AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. MODELS WERE HANDLING THE MOVEMENT OF THE FRONT ACRS THE FORECAST AREA ABOUT THE SAME AS WELL AS WITH THE PACIFIC HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM SETTLING IN FOR SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. WL TEND TO SIDE WITH THE NAM-WRF IN THE SHORT TERM...AND WITH THE ECMWF SOLUTION WHICH CONTINUES TO SHOW MORE CONSISTENCY WITH THE LATE WEEK FRONT AND RAIN CHANCES. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY THE COLD FRONT WL CONTINUE TO SHIFT EAST AND SOUTH ACRS THE FCST AREA THIS EVENING WITH CONVECTION CHANCES THE HIGHEST ACRS THE SOUTH AND EAST AHEAD OF THE FRONT. RATHER WEAK 0-6KM BULK SHEAR DEPICTED ON MODEL DATA THRU LATE TODAY...HOWEVER MIXED LAYER CAPES IN THE 2500-3000 CAPES WERE INDICATED ACRS OUR SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST COUNTIES FOR A BRIEF TIME LATE THIS AFTN. WIND PROFILES WERE MOSTLY UNIDIRECTIONAL THIS AFTN SUGGESTING MORE MULTICELLULAR CONVECTION WITH ISOLD WIND DAMAGE AND PSBLY SOME HAIL...ALTHOUGH FREEZING LEVELS WERE AT OR ABOVE 14000 FEET. BASED ON THE PROGRESSIVE NATURE OF THE FRONT THIS EVENING...HAVE DECIDED NOT TO ISSUE ANY FLASH FLOOD HEADLINES AS IT APPEARS THE BETTER SUPPORT WILL BE ACRS OUR EAST AND SOUTHEAST...WHERE THEY MISSED OUT ON LAST NIGHTS DOWNPOURS. RAIN CHANCES WILL LINGER ACRS THE SOUTHEAST SUNDAY MRNG BEFORE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS EWD ACRS THE ENTIRE FCST AREA BRINGING COOLER AND MUCH LESS HUMIDITY TO CNTRL AND SOUTHEAST IL THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE NEW WORK WEEK. MODELS INDICATE THE HIGH WL SHIFT ONLY SLOWLY EAST ACRS THE MIDWEST INTO OHIO BY WEDNESDAY WITH THE RIDGE AXIS EXTENDING WELL WEST THRU IL AND MO. THIS SHOULD BRING PLEASANT WEATHER TO THE FORECAST AREA WITH DAYTIME HIGHS IN THE MID 80S ON MONDAY...AND WARMING TO THE UPPER 80S TO AROUND 90 BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON. OVERNIGHT LOWS SHOULD RANGE FROM THE UPPER 50S TO LOWER 60S. LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY UPPER FLOW FORECAST TO DEAMPLIFY ACRS THE LOWER 48 DURING THIS PERIOD WITH FLAT RIDGING EXTENDING FROM THE ROCKIES ALL THE WAY TO THE EAST COAST. NEXT SHORTWAVE OF INTEREST FOR US WL BE TRACKING ACRS SRN CANADA LATER ON THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY WHICH SHOULD HELP TO DRAG A COLD FRONT ACRS THE MIDWEST...ESP LATER ON FRIDAY INTO EARLY SATURDAY. WL USE THE TIMING OF THE 00Z AND CURRENT ECMWF WHICH HPC HAS TRENDED TWDS...WITH THE LATEST GFS SLOWING DOWN THE FRONTAL BNDRY INTO THE REGION AS WELL ON ITS LATEST RUN. WL CONTINUE TO CARRY MENTIONABLE POPS FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT WITH SLIGHT CHANCE WORDING CARRYING OVER INTO SATURDAY TO COVER THE POSSIBILITY OF THE FRONT SLOWING DOWN OR EVEN STALLING OUT CLOSE TO OUR AREA NEXT WEEKEND. BASED ON THE MEDIUM RANGE MODEL SOLUTINS WITH THE POSITION OF THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE ACRS THE CNTRL U.S...OUR TEMPERATURES DURING THIS PERIOD SHOULD AVERAGE ABOVE NORMAL. && .AVIATION... ISSUED 619 PM CDT SAT JUL 12 2008 COLD FRONT AND ACCOMPANYING THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO PUSH EASTWARD TOWARD THE INDIANA BORDER EARLY THIS EVENING. STORMS HAVE CLEARED ALL THE TAF SITES...WITH ONLY A FEW LINGERING SHOWERS AFFECTING KCMI AND KDEC. ONCE THE RAIN COMES TO AN END...CEILINGS RISE CONSIDERABLY...WITH A MID-LEVEL CLOUD DECK AT AROUND 10000FT NOTED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS BACK INTO IOWA. BASED ON SATELLITE TRENDS AND 18Z MODEL RH PROFILES...WILL CLEAR SKIES FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE AREA BETWEEN 04Z AND 07Z. AFTER THAT...MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WITH W/NW WINDS OF BETWEEN 5 AND 15KT WILL PREVAIL DURING THE DAY SATURDAY. BARNES && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 300 PM CDT SAT JUL 12 2008 ILZ027>031-036-037-040-041-047-131100- CASS-FULTON-KNOX-MARSHALL-MASON-PEORIA-SCHUYLER-STARK-TAZEWELL- WOODFORD- 300 PM CDT SAT JUL 12 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AN APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS INTO THE REGION BY LATE FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. ILZ038-042>046-048>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-131100- CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-DE WITT- DOUGLAS-EDGAR-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-LOGAN-MACON-MCLEAN-MENARD- MORGAN-MOULTRIE-PIATT-RICHLAND-SANGAMON-SCOTT-SHELBY-VERMILION- 300 PM CDT SAT JUL 12 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE I-55 CORRIDOR...THEN TRACK EASTWARD INTO EAST-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE...WITH FREQUENT LIGHTNING...DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...AND SMALL HAIL. IN ADDITION...TORRENTIAL RAINFALL WILL BE LIKELY WITH THE STORMS...ENHANCING THE THREAT FOR LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING. THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL COME TO AN END SHORTLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT...AS THE STORMS PUSH EASTWARD INTO INDIANA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AN APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS INTO THE REGION BY LATE FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...MAINLY BETWEEN 3 PM AND 10 PM. BARNES
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
357 PM CDT SAT JUL 12 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0354 PM FLOOD 1 E LINCOLN 40.15N 89.35W
07/12/2008 LOGAN IL NWS EMPLOYEE
A FEW INCHES OF WATER FLOWING OVER DRIVEWAY ACROSS STATE
HIGHWAY 10 FROM THE NWS OFFICE
0354 PM FLOOD 2 NE LINCOLN 40.17N 89.34W
07/12/2008 LOGAN IL NWS EMPLOYEE
A FEW INCHES OF WATER FLOWING ACROSS 1400 N A QUARTER
MILE NORTH OF AIRPORT ROAD...AND ACROSS 1400 N NEAR STATE
HIGHWAY 10
&&
KELLYThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A power line was blown down near Hidalgo.
Numerous tree limbs and a power pole were blown down in Newton.
Water was flowing over a large part of U.S. Route 45 south of Neoga.
High water was reported over Centerline Road, about 3 miles southwest of Neoga.
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, July 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: 127645, 127648, 127653, 127655.