Scattered thunderstorms during the late evening hours of July 2nd caused a lightning strike which damaged a grain elevator and building in Shelby County.
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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.
Scattered thunderstorms during the late evening hours of July 2nd caused a lightning strike which damaged a grain elevator and building in Shelby County.
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 2, 10:33 PM CST, 1 hour 17 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 1133 PM CDT WED JUL 2 2008 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 813 PM CDT WED JUL 2 2008 HAVE MADE SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO THE FORECAST FOR THE OVERNIGHT HOURS...MAINLY TO THE PRECIP WORDING AND COVERAGE. MCV ACRS WEST CENTRL IL CONTINUES TO PUSH EWD THIS EVENING WITH MSAS INDICATING INSTABILITY STILL ON THE MEAGER SIDE COMPARED WITH AREAS WELL TO OUR SOUTH AND WEST. COLD FRONT WAS LOCATED ACRS EXTREME NRN IL AND WILL TAKE MOST OF THE NIGHT TO GET TO I-72 AND THEN WL TRACK TWDS THE I-70 CORRIDOR ON THURSDAY. IR SATELLITE LOOP SHOWING THE COLDEST CLOUD TOPS ACRS NRN MO AND OVER SRN LWR MICHIGAN. WE MAY SEE THE EWD EXPANSION OF CONVECTION FRM NRN MO INTO SOUTH CNTRL IL OVERNIGHT AND THAT MAY BE THE AREA THAT SEES SOME SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL...PER THE 18Z WRF FORECAST. NOT TOTALLY SOLD ON THAT IDEA YET BUT THE MODEL SEEMS TO HAVE TRACKED THE MCV WELL AND IS DVLPG THE CONVECTION ALONG AND TO THE EAST OF THE TRACK OF THE FEATURE. WL KEEP THE BULK OF THE ZFP WORDING GOING WITH AN EMPHASIS ON HIGHER POPS ACRS THE SOUTHEAST OVERNIGHT. && .AVIATION... ISSUED 1115 PM CDT WED JUL 2 2008 AT 05Z...COLD FRONT EXTENDED FROM ROUGHLY BURLINGTON...TO CHICAGO AND WL SLOWLY MOVE THROUGH DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS....AND LINGER THU IN S IL. EXPECT AREAS OF CONVECTION TO PERSIST AHEAD OF THIS FRONT...AND TO AFFECT KSPI...KDEC AND TO PASS NEAR KCMI FOR A FEW HOURS. THINK THUNDERSTORMS WL STAY S OF KPIA AND KBMI OVERNIGHT. BASED UPON OBS BEHIND THE FRONT TODAY...WL ADD WIND GUSTS TO NORTHERN AIRPORTS DURING THE DAY THU. CLOSER TO THE FRONT...EXPECT WINDS TO BE A BIT LIGHTER. KELLY && .PREV DISCUSSION... ISSUED 255 PM CDT WED JUL 2 2008 MOISTURE RETURN IS EVIDENT OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS TODAY...AS DEWPOINT READINGS HAVE CLIMBED SEVERAL DEGREES FROM SUNRISE VALUES. TEMPERATURES HAD CLIMBED INTO THE 80S BY EARLY AFTERNOON...APPROACHING 90 DEGREES SOUTH OF I-70 WHERE SUNSHINE WAS MOST PREVALENT. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED AT TIMES DURING THE DAY...LASTING FOR 1-2 HOURS BEFORE DISSIPATING. MAIN ISSUE OF THE DAY WILL BE WITH THE COLD FRONT THAT WILL BE AFFECTING THE MIDWEST THROUGH FRIDAY. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH INDEPENDENCE DAY... SEVERE WEATHER THREAT FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING IS THE IMMEDIATE CONCERN. 18Z ILX SOUNDING SHOWING CAPES IN THE 2400 J/KG VICINITY...ALTHOUGH THE ATMOSPHERE IS STILL A BIT CAPPED. MORE INSTABILITY FOUND FURTHER NORTHWEST AS EVIDENCED BY CORRESPONDING DVN SOUNDING...CLOSER TO THE ACTUAL FRONT WHICH WAS LOCATED ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST THIRD OF IOWA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING ACROSS THAT AREA AND THIS TREND WILL PUSH SOUTHEAST...WITH STORMS BEGINNING IN THE NORTHWEST CWA VERY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND WORKING THEIR WAY SOUTHEAST AS THE EVENING PROGRESSES. SPC HAS MOST OF THE CWA EXCEPT THE FAR SOUTHEAST IN A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER. NEXT ISSUE IS THE SPEED OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE. MODELS DIFFERING ON THIS POINT...AS NAM HAS THE FRONT IN THE I-70 VICINITY BY 18Z THURSDAY...WHILE GFS PULLS THE FRONT FASTER THROUGH THE AREA AS LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPS OVERNIGHT NORTHWEST OF CHAMPAIGN AND QUICKLY MOVES EAST BY MORNING. LEANED MORE TOWARD THE NAM POSITIONING. MODELS HAVE THE FRONT BECOMING QUASI STATIONARY IN THE VICINITY OF THE OHIO RIVER WITH MCS COMPLEXES MOVING ALONG IT THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. KEPT SOME RAIN CHANCES GOING ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST HALF OF THE CWA INTO INDEPENDENCE DAY...BUT THIS WOULD BE MORE DURING THE MORNING WITH THINGS DRYING OUT BY FIREWORKS TIME. TEMPERATURES HEADING SEVERAL DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AGAIN FOR A COUPLE DAYS...BUT NOT QUITE AS COOL ON THURSDAY ACROSS THE SOUTH. LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... MODELS DEVELOPING 500 MB CUTOFF LOW OVER THE MIDWEST...WITH THE GFS MOST PREVALENT ON THIS POINT WITH THE LOW FORMING OVER SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS ON SATURDAY WHILE EUROPEAN MODEL HAS THIS OCCURRING FURTHER EAST OVER OHIO. SIDED WITH THE ECMWF...THUS RESULTING IN DRY CONDITIONS FOR THE WEEKEND. NEXT FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXPECTED TO COME OUT OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS EARLY NEXT WEEK...ALTHOUGH MODELS SHOWING IT BECOMING RATHER STATIONARY NEAR THE I-70 CORRIDOR BY MONDAY EVENING. RAIN CHANCES MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN CWA DURING THIS PERIOD (MONDAY/MONDAY NIGHT). GEELHART && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 335 PM CDT WED JUL 2 2008 ILZ027>031-037-038-031100- KNOX-MARSHALL-MCLEAN-PEORIA-STARK-TAZEWELL-WOODFORD- 335 PM CDT WED JUL 2 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH INTO THE REGION TONIGHT...TRIGGERING SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE AREA. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS ALSO POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL CONTINUE ON THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT AS THE FRONT SLOWLY PUSHES THROUGH THE STATE. AT THIS TIME...SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED WITH ANY OF THESE STORMS. A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS RETURNS AGAIN ON MONDAY AS ANOTHER FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TONIGHT...PRIMARILY BETWEEN 6 PM AND MIDNIGHT. ILZ036-040-041-047-049-050-031100- CASS-FULTON-MASON-MORGAN-SCHUYLER-SCOTT- 335 PM CDT WED JUL 2 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH INTO THE REGION TONIGHT...TRIGGERING SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE AREA. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS ALSO POSSIBLE. THE ILLINOIS RIVER WILL REMAIN IN FLOOD AT HAVANA AND POINTS DOWNSTREAM THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL CONTINUE FOR THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AS THE FRONT SLOWLY PUSHES THROUGH THE STATE. AT THIS TIME...SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED WITH ANY OF THESE STORMS. A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS RETURNS AGAIN ON MONDAY AS ANOTHER FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TONIGHT...PRIMARILY BETWEEN 6 PM AND MIDNIGHT. ILZ042>046-048-051>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-031100- CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-DE WITT- DOUGLAS-EDGAR-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-LOGAN-MACON-MENARD- MOULTRIE-PIATT-RICHLAND-SANGAMON-SHELBY-VERMILION- 335 PM CDT WED JUL 2 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A COLD FRONT WILL PUSH INTO THE REGION TONIGHT...TRIGGERING SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE AREA. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS ALSO POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL CONTINUE FOR THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AS THE FRONT SLOWLY PUSHES THROUGH THE STATE. AT THIS TIME...SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED WITH ANY OF THESE STORMS. A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS RETURNS AGAIN ON MONDAY AS ANOTHER FRONT MOVES INTO THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TONIGHT...PRIMARILY BETWEEN 6 PM AND MIDNIGHT. BARNES
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:47 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck a grain elevator and started a fire in a nearby office building. 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, 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: 127706.