Thunderstorms developed ahead of a slow moving cold front in central and east central Illinois. 50 of rain, and flash flooding, in less than two hours across parts of east central Illinois during the evening of July 15th.
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 ILX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed ahead of a slow moving cold front in central and east central Illinois. The storms produced heavy rainfall of 1.50 to 2.50 of rain, and flash flooding, in less than two hours across parts of east central Illinois during the evening of July 15th.
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 15, 1:32 PM CST, 2 hours 48 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 232 PM CDT THU JUL 15 2010 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 124 PM CDT THU JUL 15 2010 SURFACE MAP AT 18Z HAD COLD FRONT JUST TO THE EAST OF THE IL RIVER. AHEAD OF THIS FRONT...HOT AND VERY HUMID AIR IN PLACE...WHILE COOLER AND LESS HUMID AIR BEHIND THE FRONT. 18Z ILX SOUNDING SHOWING NEARLY 4000J/KG OF CAPE...BUT NO CAP. THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPED AHEAD OF THIS FRONT...ACROSS EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. MODELS IN THE SHORT TERM IN DECENT AGREEMENT. FORECAST CHALLENGE IN THE SHORT TERM IS THEN PRECIPITATION WILL COME TO AN END ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT/FRIDAY MORNING...IN THE LONGER TERM THE FORECAST CHALLENGE IS HIGH TEMPERATURES TOWARD THE MIDDLE OF THE NEXT WEEK. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY COLD FRONT SLOWLY MOVES SOUTHEAST TONIGHT...REACHING THE SOUTHEAST COUNTIES BY 06Z. A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LINGER ALONG AND AHEAD THE FRONT TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. A WEAK HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BUILD INTO THE FORECAST AREA FROM THE WEST LATE TONIGHT. THE FRONT WEAKENS CONSIDERABLY FRIDAY SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA...AS HIGH PRESSURE MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. HIGHS FRIDAY WILL BE A FEW DEGREES COOLER THAN TODAY...ALONG WITH LOWER HUMIDITY LEVELS. LONG TERM...SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT ANOTHER COLD FRONT MOVES INTO CENTRAL ILLINOIS ON SUNDAY...AND BECOMES NEARLY STATIONARY ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. THE GFS AND ECMWF DIFFER ON PLACEMENT OF THIS FRONT...WITH THE 12Z GFS PLACING THE FRONT FURTHER SOUTH ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA. THE FRONT LIFTS NORTH AS A WARM FRONT ON TUESDAY. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS INTO THE SOUTHEAST US TOWARD THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK...ALLOWING TEMPERATURES TO RISE...WITH GUIDANCE SUGGESTING HIGHS IN THE MIDDLE 90S IN THE SOUTHEAST WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. DPK && .AVIATION... ISSUED 1235 PM CDT THU JUL 15 2010 NOT A LOT OF SHIFT IN THE FORECAST WITH THE EXCEPTION OF CMI AND DEC IN THE SHORT TERM WITH THE THREAT OF CONVECTION ALONG NOT ONLY THE OUTFLOW BOUNDARY THAT IS OVER THEM AT THE TIME OF ISSUANCE...BUT ALSO WITH THE FRONT ITSELF THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AND THE EVENING. ONCE THE ACTIVITY SHIFTS TO THE SOUTHEAST...THE MAIN CONCERNS FOR THE TAF SITES WILL BE CLEARING OUT TO BKN CIRRUS INVOF AND BEHIND THE SLOW MOVING FRONT...THE WIND SHIFT TO THE NW...AND THE POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF SOME BR AND FG IN THE MORNING. RIGHT NOW...BEST CHANCES WILL BE IN DEC AND CMI WHERE THE RAIN IS FALLING NOW...CONTINGENT UPON SOME CLEARING BEHIND THE STORMS. HJS && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR ILZ031-037-038- 041>057-061>063-066>068-071>073. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 347 PM CDT THU JUL 15 2010 ILZ027>031-037-038-161100- KNOX-MARSHALL-MCLEAN-PEORIA-STARK-TAZEWELL-WOODFORD- 347 PM CDT THU JUL 15 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A SLOW MOVING FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT. ILZ036-040-041-047-049-050-161100- CASS-FULTON-MASON-MORGAN-SCHUYLER-SCOTT- 347 PM CDT THU JUL 15 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THE ILLINOIS RIVER WILL REMAIN IN FLOOD SOUTH OF HAVANA THROUGH THE WEEKEND. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A SLOW MOVING FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT. ILZ042-048-051-161100- LOGAN-MENARD-SANGAMON- 347 PM CDT THU JUL 15 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A SLOW MOVING FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT. ILZ043>046-052>057-061-161100- CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-COLES-DE WITT-DOUGLAS-EDGAR-MACON-MOULTRIE- PIATT-SHELBY-VERMILION- 347 PM CDT THU JUL 15 2010 ...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 100 TO 105 WILL LINGER INTO EARLY EVENING UNTIL A WEAK COLD FRONT PASSES THROUGH THE REGION. THUNDERSTORMS...WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...ARE POSSIBLE UNTIL THE COLD FRONT CLEARS THE AREA THIS EVENING. A FEW OF THE STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A SLOW MOVING FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED EARLY THIS EVENING UNTIL THE FRONT CLEARS THE AREA. ILZ062-063-066>068-071>073-161100- CLARK-CLAY-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-RICHLAND- 347 PM CDT THU JUL 15 2010 ...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 100 TO 105 WILL LINGER INTO EARLY EVENING UNTIL A WEAK COLD FRONT PASSES THROUGH THE REGION. THUNDERSTORMS...WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL...ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT. A FEW OF THE STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY WITH A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY STALLED JUST SOUTH OF THE REGION. A SLOW MOVING FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT. BAK
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
519 PM CDT THU JUL 15 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0515 PM FLOOD 2 N TUSCOLA 39.83N 88.28W
07/15/2010 DOUGLAS IL AMATEUR RADIO
ABOUT 2 INCHES OF WATER OVER US ROUTE 45 BETWEEN 1300 AND
1400 NORTH OF TUSCOLA
&&
DPKThe Lincoln radar (KILX), 85 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:20 UTC.
5 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy rain, with rainfall rates of 1.50 per hour, were reported in much of Douglas County. Roads were flooded in the city of Tuscola with water around one foot deep, which stranded several motorists.
Slow moving thunderstorms produced rainfall rates of 1.50 per hour for nearly two in a small part of southern Champaign County. Several rural roads were flooded, as well as parts of U.S. Highway 45 between Pesotum and the county line.
A second area of thunderstorms produced heavy rain and flash flooding in part of Douglas County. Rainfall rates of 1.50 per hour and flash flooding of numerous rural roads were reported in the southeast corner of the county.
Thunderstorms with heavy rainfall rates of 1.50 per hour for at least two hours produced flash flooding in much of northeast Coles County. Many rural roads had six inches or more of flowing water during the early evening hours.
Thunderstorms with heavy rainfall rates of 1.50 per hour for at least two hours produced flash flooding in much of west central Edgar County. Many rural roads had six inches or more of flowing water during the early evening hours.
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, July 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: 254341, 254348, 254346, 254425, 254435.