A complex of thunderstorms developed across the Northern Plains, then dropped southeastward into west-central Illinois during the evening of 7/27/08. Scattered wind damage was reported along and southwest of a Rushville to Springfield line.
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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.
A complex of thunderstorms developed across the Northern Plains, then dropped southeastward into west-central Illinois during the evening of 7/27/08. Scattered wind damage was reported along and southwest of a Rushville to Springfield line.
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 27, 5:15 PM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 615 PM CDT SUN JUL 27 2008 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 256 PM CDT SUN JUL 27 2008 MODELS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH OVERALL PATTERN FCST AND EVOLUTION NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. ON THE SFC THE NAM AND GFS CONTINUE TO DIFFER WITH WHAT THE PATTERN IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE. INTERESTING THING TODAY IS THAT THE NGM LOOKS PRETTY SIMILAR TO THE GFS SFC PATTERN AND SEEMS TO HAVE A BETTER HANDLE ON THE QPF FIELDS NEXT 24HRS. BASED ON MCS PARAMETERS IN THE MODELS BELIEVE THE GFS IS TOO FAR EAST WITH THE QPF FIELDS TONIGHT AND PREFER A NAM/NGM LOCATION. MAIN CONCERN IN THE SHORT TERM IS PCPN ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPING MCS/BOWING SEGMENT TONIGHT. ANOTHER CONCERN IS THE RETURN OF PCPN CHANCES FOR TUE NIGHT THROUGH THUR AS ANOTHER FRONT DROPS INTO THE REGION MID WEEK. LONG TERM MODELS HAVE COME TO A BETTER AGREEMENT THIS PACKAGE AND WITH ALL PCPN CONCERNS ON THUR...ONLY REAL CONCERNS IN THE LONG TERM WILL BE HOW WARM WILL IT GET BY NEXT WEEKEND. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AREA OF CONVECTION HAS FINALLY DEVELOPED IN NRN IOWA THIS AFTERNOON AND APPEARS TO BE TAKING A MOVE SOUTHEAST. THIS WILL LIKELY AFFECT PARTS OF THE CWA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THIS EVENING. MCS PARAMETERS SUGGEST THIS AREA OF CONVECTION WILL DIVE INTO NORTHWEST PARTS OF THE CWA THIS EVENING. MODEL QPF FIELDS AND OTHER PARAMETERS SUGGEST THE PCPN WILL TAKE A MORE SOUTHERLY TRACK INTO EASTERN IOWA AND EASTERN MO THIS EVENING. HAVE INCREASED POPS IN THE NW AND WEST FOR TONIGHT BASED ON THIS LINE OF THINKING FOR NOW. HOWEVER...WILL TAKE FINAL LOOK AFTER 3PM TO SEE IF LIKELY POPS AREA NEEDS TO BE EXPANDED EASTWARD BASED ON TRACK OF CONVECTION. SOME QUESTION AS TO WHAT SFC PATTERN WILL LOOK LIKE TOMORROW BUT STILL THINK OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES WILL BE AROUND AND MOISTURE WILL REMAIN HIGH. SO WILL KEEP CHC POPS IN FCST FOR TOMORROW. SHOULD BE A BRIEF DRY PERIOD TOMORROW NIGHT BEFORE PCPN CHANCES RETURN FOR TUE NIGHT THROUGH WED NIGHT. MODELS INDICATE STRONGER WAVE RIDING OVER TOP THE RIDGE MID WEEK. THIS WILL DRAG A COLD FRONT DOWN ACROSS THE AREA. FIRST INDICATIONS ARE THE FRONT WILL BE SLOW TO MOVE THROUGH CWA SO WILL HAVE TO HAVE SOME FORM OF CHC POPS THROUGH REST OF THE SHORT TERM FOR NOW. WILL MAKE ADJUSTMENTS NEXT WEEK AS MODELS GET BETTER HANDLE ON SITUATION AND ATMOSPHERE RECOVERS FROM TONIGHTS AND TOMORROWS CONVECTION. TEMPS WILL REMAIN AROUND NORMAL TOMORROW EVEN WITH PCPN AND CLOUD COVER IN THE AREA. HOWEVER...TEMPS WILL RECOVER TO MUCH ABOVE NORMAL BY TUE AS SOUTHERLY FLOW RETURNS QUICKLY. ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS WILL REMAIN REST OF PERIOD AS MID WEEK FRONTAL SYSTEM STAYS JUST NORTH OF THE AREA. MOS GUIDANCE LOOK REASONABLE FOR NOW. LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY CHC POPS WILL CONTINUE INTO THUR AS FRONT SLOWLY PUSHES THROUGH THE AREA. THEN DRY WEATHER CAN BE EXPECTED AS RIDGING AND NORTHWESTERLY FLOW RETURNS. COULD BE SOME WEAK WAVES IN THE FLOW BUT LOCATION AND TIMING IS TOO UNCERTAIN. SO WILL KEEP DRY WEATHER IN FCST FOR THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH NEXT SUNDAY. TEMPS WILL REMAIN AT OR ABOVE NORMAL FOR THE PERIOD. MEX GUIDANCE LOOKS REASONABLE WITH THIS AS WELL. AUTEN && .AVIATION... ISSUED 615 PM CDT SUN JUL 27 2008 LARGE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM CLUSTER IN SERN IA WILL MOVE SEWD THROUGH W-CENTRAL IL BEFORE 06Z MON. ERN END OF STRONGEST STORM MAY CLIP SPI BETWEEN 02Z AND 03Z. CHANCES ARE ALSO HIGH FOR CONVECTION FOR PIA/BMI/DEC...HOWEVER STORMS SHOULD BE WEAKER OVER THESE AREAS. MAIN SHORTWAVE PRODUCING THE CONVECTION WILL BE CLEARING OUT MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION OVER CENTRAL IL AFTER 06Z. WILL INCLUDE SOME PROB30 FOR POSSIBLE SCT REDEVELOPMENT BEFORE 18Z MON...WITH CHANCES THEN LOWERING AFT 18Z MON. 04 && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 305 PM CDT SUN JUL 27 2008 ILZ027>031-036-037-040>042-047>051-281100- CASS-FULTON-KNOX-LOGAN-MARSHALL-MASON-MENARD-MORGAN-PEORIA- SANGAMON-SCHUYLER-SCOTT-STARK-TAZEWELL-WOODFORD- 305 PM CDT SUN JUL 27 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A STORM COMPLEX DIVING SOUTHEAST OUT OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS/UPPER MIDWEST THIS AFTERNOON SHOULD WEAKEN CONSIDERABLY BEFORE IT REACHES CENTRAL ILLINOIS. HOWEVER...IF THE STORMS HOLD TOGETHER OR ADDITIONAL STORMS FIRE ALONG REMNANT OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES...A FEW SEVERE STORMS ARE POSSIBLE. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WOULD BE THE PRIMARY THREAT. AN ADDITIONAL STORM COMPLEX IS EXPECTED TO FORM OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST TONIGHT. THESE STORMS MAY TRACK INTO CENTRAL ILLINOIS BY MORNING. THESE STORMS WOULD BE LESS LIKELY TO BECOME SEVERE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY PERIODIC WEATHER DISTURBANCES WILL PROVIDE AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS EVENING. ILZ038-043>046-052>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-281100- CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-DE WITT- DOUGLAS-EDGAR-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-MACON-MCLEAN-MOULTRIE- PIATT-RICHLAND-SHELBY-VERMILION- 305 PM CDT SUN JUL 27 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A STORM COMPLEX IS EXPECTED TO FORM OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST TONIGHT. THESE STORMS MAY TRACK INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS BY MORNING. ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY PERIODIC WEATHER DISTURBANCES WILL PROVIDE AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. HJS
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:24 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Several large tree limbs and construction signs were blown down. Power was knocked out in Camden and Brooklyn.
A large tree was blown down 4 miles west of Rushville.
A large tree was blown down on the west side of Winchester.
Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in Jacksonville.
A tree limb fell on a power line, knocking out power to Berlin.
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: 126788, 126789, 126790, 126795, 126792.