A strong cold front plowed eastward through eastern Iowa and northern Illinois during the late afternoon and evening hours of June 27 triggering a line of severe thunderstorms. but also saw wind gusts in excess of 60 mph which caused numerous reports of tree damage and downed some utility poles and power lines.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 episode as NWS DVN wrote it up.
A strong cold front plowed eastward through eastern Iowa and northern Illinois during the late afternoon and evening hours of June 27 triggering a line of severe thunderstorms. Several areas not only received torrential downpours of rain...but also saw wind gusts in excess of 60 mph which caused numerous reports of tree damage and downed some utility poles and power lines. One of the stronger storms hit just southeast of Walnut Grove, IL destroying a barn and a grain bin. In addition, hail 1.25 inches in diameter fell just north of Burlington, IA. Prior to all the wild weather, hazy, hot, and humid conditions prevailed across the region, with high temperatures ranging from the upper 80s north to upper 90s south.
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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 27, 12:30 PM CST, 3 hours 52 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 130 PM CDT SAT JUN 27 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT IS MAKING STEADY PROGRESS THROUGH IOWA AS OF NOON...AND DEWPOINTS HAVE QUICKLY RECOVERED TO THE LOWER TO MID 70S OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF IOWA. THESE WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO SPREAD NORTH AND EAST AHEAD OF THE FRONT THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON. THIS IS KEY...AS IT WILL ESTABLISH 2000 TO 4000 CAPE OVER THE CWA BY LATE AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES ARE WELL ON THERE WAY TO REACHING THE UPPER 80S TO LOWER 90S. BEHIND THE FRONT...SHARPLY DRIER AIR AND MODERATELY COOLER AIR IS FOUND THROUGHOUT THE DAKOTAS. THUS...AFTER TONIGHTS STORMS...WE SHOULD BE IN FOR AN OUTSTANDING STRETCH OF PLEASANT WEATHER...WITHOUT THE WIDESPREAD USE OF AIR CONDITIONERS. && .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY... STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY BE ONGOING AT THE START OF THE PERIOD...MAINLY ALONG AND EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. PRIOR TO THAT...THE STORMS WILL HAVE SWEPT THROUGH EASTERN IOWA. PARAMETERS CONTINUE TO SUGGEST BOWING LINE SEGMENTS AND A FEW SUPERCELLS PRODUCING ORGANIZED STRONG WINDS...AND ISOLATED HAIL UP TO 1 INCH IN DIAMETER. THE TORNADO THREAT LOOKS LOW...AND WOULD BE RESTRICTED TO A QUICK SPIN UP ON MESOSCALE BOUNDARIES AND STORM INTERACTIONS. WIND GUSTS OF 60 TO 70 MPH APPEAR QUITE LIKELY IN THE EXPECTED BOWING SEGMENTS. TONIGHT WILL SEE THESE STORM QUICKLY MOVE EAST...AND AN UPDATE TO COMPLETELY DRY OUT THE FORECAST IS LIKELY BY MID EVENING. AFTER THIS...DRY AND MORE TEMPERATE AIR WILL SWEEP IN...WITH EXCEPTIONALLY PLEASANT WEATHER IN STORE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME. ...ERVIN... .LONG TERM...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH NEXT SATURDAY... A PLEASANT STRETCH OF WEATHER EXPECTED FOR THIS ENTIRE TIME FRAME. CLOSED LOW SETS UP SHOP OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION AND REMAINS THERE FOR MUCH OF THIS UPCOMING WEEK. THIS PUTS THE DVN CWA IN THE COOLER AND DRIER NORTHWEST FLOW WITH THE BULK OF THE CLOUDS AND SHOWERY WEATHER WELL TO OUR NORTHEAST UNDER THE LOW. NOTICED THE GFS HAS BACKED OFF ON RAMMING THE HEAT BACK INTO THE REGION BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK. GFS NOW SIMILAR TO THE ECMWF KEEPING THE REGION IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW. WILL HAVE A DRY FORECAST THIS ENTIRE PERIOD WITH CLEAR NIGHTS AND MOSTLY SUNNY DAYS. MAY BE A LITTLE MORE INSTABILITY CUMULUS CLOUDS DURING THE AFTERNOON IN OUR NORTHEAST CWA DURING THE WEEK WHERE SOMEWHAT COLDER AIR ALOFT WILL EXIST. MAX AND MIN TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO BE NEAR TO BELOW NORMAL THIS PERIOD ALONG WITH COMFORTABLE HUMIDITIES. FOR FARMERS THIS WILL BE EXCELLENT HAY CUTTING WEATHER. ..HAASE.. && .AVIATION... A COLD FRONT WILL BRING A SHORT 1 TO 2 HOUR PERIOD OF IFR TO LIFR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AND STRONG WINDS TO ALL SITES BETWEEN 20Z AND 01Z. IN ANY SITE...THESE CONDITIONS SHOULD LAST UNDER 1 HOUR. AFTER THE STORMS MOVE THROUGH...A QUICK RETURN TO PERSISTENT VFR WEATHER IS EXPECTED. THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT CID AT 20-21Z...DBQ AT 21-23Z...MLI AT 23-01Z...AND BRL AT 23-01Z. AGAIN...WITHIN THESE WINDOWS...THE STORM WILL LAST UNDER 1 HOUR...AND VFR WEATHER WILL BE FOUND IN THE WAKE OF THEM. && .DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...NONE. IL...NONE. MO...NONE. ERVIN/HAASE
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL 455 AM CDT SAT JUN 27 2009 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-281000- BUCHANAN-DELAWARE-DUBUQUE-BENTON-LINN-JONES-JACKSON-IOWA-JOHNSON- CEDAR-CLINTON-MUSCATINE-SCOTT-KEOKUK-WASHINGTON-LOUISA-JEFFERSON- HENRY IA-DES MOINES-VAN BUREN-LEE-JO DAVIESS-STEPHENSON-CARROLL- WHITESIDE-ROCK ISLAND-HENRY IL-BUREAU-PUTNAM-MERCER-HENDERSON- WARREN-HANCOCK-MCDONOUGH-SCOTLAND-CLARK- 455 AM CDT SAT JUN 27 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL IOWA...NORTHEAST IOWA...SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS ACROSS THE ENTIRE OUTLOOK AREA FOR MID AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT THAT WILL PUSH ACROSS THE AREA FROM MID AFTERNOON THROUGH EVENING. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE PRIMARY THREAT. THERE IS ALSO A LOW POTENTIAL FOR SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THUNDERSTORMS. RELATIVELY FAST MOVEMENT OF STORMS WILL LIMIT RAINFALL AMOUNTS TO LESS THAN 1 INCH IN MOST LOCATIONS AND THE THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING IS LOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EVENING. SHEETS
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
445 PM CDT SAT JUN 27 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0418 PM TSTM WND GST WASHINGTON 41.30N 91.69W
06/27/2009 M59 MPH WASHINGTON IA AWOS
&&
LEGROPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
504 PM CDT SAT JUN 27 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0502 PM TSTM WND GST WILTON 41.59N 91.02W
06/27/2009 E60 MPH MUSCATINE IA TRAINED SPOTTER
WINDS ESTIMATED TO BE 50 TO 60 MPH WITH SOME BRANCHES
COMING DOWN.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
518 PM CDT SAT JUN 27 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0440 PM TSTM WND DMG E AINSWORTH 41.29N 91.55W
06/27/2009 WASHINGTON IA PUBLIC
PARKED SEMI BLOWN OVER NEAR JUNCTION OF HIGHWAYS 218 AND
92. TIME ESTIMATED.
&&
LEGROPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
522 PM CDT SAT JUN 27 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0501 PM TSTM WND GST 1 N MUSCATINE 41.43N 91.07W
06/27/2009 E60 MPH MUSCATINE IA TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
LEGROThe Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:22 UTC.
17 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew down some trees and branches about 4 miles north of Savanna, IL around 522 pm June 27. A power outage was also observed.
Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down some tree limbs 6 to 7 inches in diameter about 2 miles northeast of Fulton, IL around 535 pm June 27.
Wind gusts were estimated to be 60 mph about 3 miles north of Lanark, IL around 537 pm June 27.
Wind gusts were estimated to be 50 to 60 mph in Reynolds, IL around 548 pm June 27.
Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph flattened a corn field about 3 miles west southwest of Chadwick, IL around 548 pm June 27.
Wind gusts were estimated to be 60 mph 1 mile west southwest of Sherrard, IL around 607 pm June 27. A power outage was also observed.
Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew down a large tree at Avenue J and 6th St in Sterling, IL around 615 pm June 27. The tree snapped some power lines and blocked the road. Several other smaller branches were also blown down.
Wind gusts were estimated to be 55 to 60 mph in Oquawka, IL around 620 pm June 27.
Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph blew a 12 inch diameter tree limb down in Walnut, IL around 637 pm June 27.
Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down some large tree limbs about 1 mile west of Roseville, IL around 705 pm June 27.
Wind gusts estimated to be 65 mph snapped a 15 inch diameter tree onto a residence on Highway 67 near the Warren-Mc Donough county line or about 3 miles south southwest of Swan Creek, IL around 731 pm June 27.
Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph tossed a grain bin onto the highway and power lines about 1.5 miles southeast of Walnut Grove, IL around 753 pm June 27. A barn in the area was also destroyed with debris tossed about a half mile into the field.
Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph blew down some trees and power lines between Bushnell, IL and Prairie City, IL around 755 pm June 27.
Wind gusts estimated to be 70 mph broke the Macomb, IL welcome sign on the east side of town around 800 pm June 27.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, June 2009
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: 184339, 184341, 184343, 184345, 184347, 184348, 184349, 184350, 184351, 184352, 184353, 184354, 184361, 184362, 184364, 184366, 184368.