A tightening pressure gradient between a departing high and an approaching deep low produced widespread winds of between 45 and 55 mph across central Illinois on April 29th. The strongest winds gusting as high as 60 mph occurred in a corridor from Springfield to Danville, where minor damage was reported.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 ILX wrote it up.
A tightening pressure gradient between a departing high and an approaching deep low produced widespread winds of between 45 and 55 mph across central Illinois on April 29th. The strongest winds gusting as high as 60 mph occurred in a corridor from Springfield to Danville, where minor damage was reported.
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 Apr 29, 11:20 AM CST, 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 1220 PM CDT THU APR 29 2010 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 1220 PM CDT THU APR 29 2010 HAVE EXPANDED THE WIND ADVISORY TO INCLUDE SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. WINDS HAVE BEGUN GUSTING INTO THE 35 TO 40 MPH RANGE IN THAT AREA. RUC GUIDANCE DOES SUGGEST THE STRONGEST WINDS TO REMAIN FURTHER NORTHWEST IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS. AREA OBSERVATIONS INDICATING THAT 45 MPH GUSTS ARE FAIRLY COMMON NOW...WITH SUSTAINED WINDS AS HIGH AS 35 MPH AT TIMES. GEELHART && .AVIATION... ISSUED 1220 PM CDT THU APR 29 2010 WIND SPEEDS TO BE THE MAIN ISSUE DURING THE 18Z TAF PERIOD. HAVE BEEN GETTING GUSTS AROUND 40 KNOTS OR SO AT TIMES AT THE TAF SITES. 16Z RUC MODEL SUGGESTS SIMILAR WIND SPEEDS THROUGH AFTERNOON...SUBSIDING TO AROUND 25 KNOTS BY SUNSET. THE GUSTINESS IS EXPECTED TO WANE DURING THE EVENING...BUT MODELS SHOWING A 45-50 KNOT LOW LEVEL JET SETTING UP AGAIN...ESPECIALLY FROM KSPI- KCMI SOUTHWARD...SO HAVE CONTINUED WITH THE LLWS MENTIONED IN THE PREVIOUS TAFS. AFTER 12Z...WINDS SHOULD BEGIN MIXING DOWN TO THE SURFACE AGAIN...SO WILL HAVE GUSTS AROUND 30 KNOTS DURING THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. CLOUDS EXPECTED TO BE ONLY OF THE HIGH VARIETY THROUGH 12Z. AFTER THAT...MODEL HUMIDITY PLOTS AND SOUNDINGS INDICATING SOME LOWER CLOUDS DEVELOPING DURING THE 15-18Z TIME FRAME. HAVE KEPT HEIGHTS OF THESE CLOUDS AROUND 5000 FEET...ALTHOUGH THE NAM MODEL SUGGESTS HEIGHTS MAY BE LOWER BY THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. GEELHART && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR ILZ027>031-036>038- 040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 1100 AM CDT THU APR 29 2010 ILZ040-047-049-050-301100- CASS-MORGAN-SCHUYLER-SCOTT- 1100 AM CDT THU APR 29 2010 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED TODAY...WITH A SOUTH WIND GUSTING TO AROUND 45 MPH. MINOR FLOODING ON THE ILLINOIS RIVER NEAR BEARDSTOWN WILL SUBSIDE TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED FRIDAY...WITH A SOUTH WIND GUSTING FROM 30 TO 35 MPH. PERIODIC THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY. CURRENTLY THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT SOME OF THE STORMS FROM FRIDAY EVENING TO FRIDAY NIGHT COULD BECOME SEVERE. IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE DURING THE PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. ILZ027>031-036>038-041>043-048-051>053-061-301100- CHRISTIAN-DE WITT-FULTON-KNOX-LOGAN-MACON-MARSHALL-MASON-MCLEAN- MENARD-PEORIA-SANGAMON-SHELBY-STARK-TAZEWELL-WOODFORD- 1100 AM CDT THU APR 29 2010 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED TODAY...WITH A SOUTH WIND GUSTING TO AROUND 45 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED FRIDAY...WITH A SOUTH WIND GUSTING FROM 30 TO 35 MPH. PERIODIC THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY. CURRENTLY THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT SOME OF THE STORMS FROM FRIDAY EVENING TO FRIDAY NIGHT COULD BECOME SEVERE. IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE DURING THE PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. ILZ044>046-054>057-301100- CHAMPAIGN-COLES-DOUGLAS-EDGAR-MOULTRIE-PIATT-VERMILION- 1100 AM CDT THU APR 29 2010 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED TODAY...WITH A SOUTH WIND GUSTING TO AROUND 45 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED FRIDAY...WITH A SOUTH WIND GUSTING FROM 30 TO 35 MPH. PERIODIC THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY. CURRENTLY THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT SOME OF THE STORMS FRIDAY NIGHT COULD BECOME SEVERE. IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE DURING THE PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. ILZ062-063-066>068-071>073-301100- CLARK-CLAY-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-RICHLAND- 1100 AM CDT THU APR 29 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT WINDY CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED TODAY WITH A SOUTH WIND GUSTING TO AROUND 40 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED FRIDAY...WITH A SOUTH WIND GUSTING FROM 30 TO 35 MPH. PERIODIC THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED FROM FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. CURRENTLY THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK THAT SOME OF THE STORMS FRIDAY NIGHT...AND AGAIN SATURDAY NIGHT...COULD BECOME SEVERE. IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE DURING THE PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. GEELHART
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A highway sign was blown over at mile marker 162 on I-72 2 miles west of Monticello.
Tree branches and power lines were blown down in Farmer City.
Part of the siding was torn off an apartment building in Mount Zion.
A large tree was blown down at the intersection of East Division and South Reynolds in Altamont.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, April 2010
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: 227095, 227096, 227097, 227098.