Thunderstorms produced destructive lightning.
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 LOT wrote it up.
Thunderstorms produced destructive lightning.
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 Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 13, 8:12 AM CST, 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL 912 AM CDT WED OCT 13 2010 .DISCUSSION... 314 AM CDT PRIMARY FORECAST CHALLENGES THIS MORNING INCLUDE SHOWER POTENTIAL TODAY...LAKE EFFECT POTENTIAL FOR PORTER COUNTY TONIGHT...THEN JUST TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH SERIES OF DRY FRONTAL PASSAGES. FRONT MOVING INTO OUR WESTERN CWA AT THIS TIME WITH NOT MUCH FANFARE WITH IT AT THIS TIME AS THE SHOWERS THAT HAD DEVELOPED WITH IT YESTERDAY AFTERNOON FIZZLED WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING. WHILE THOSE SHOWERS HAVE LONG SINCE FADED WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A VIGOROUS VORT MAX DROPPING SOUTH ACROSS MN/ND WITH IR AND WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWING CLOUD TOPS BEGINNING TO COOL OVER WI/IA WHICH IS LIKELY A RESPONSE TO THE INCREASING ASCENT AHEAD OF THE DIGGING VORT. SO DESPITE THE SOMEWHAT LACK-LUSTER APPEARANCE ON RADAR AT THIS TIME SUSPECT THAT AS THE TROUGH CONTINUES AMPLIFYING THIS MORNING THE INCREASING LARGE SCALE ASCENT BEGINNING TO ACT UPON THE SLIGHTLY MORE MOIST ENVIRONMENT OVER THE MIDWEST THAT SHOWERS WILL BEGIN TO LIGHT UP THIS MORNING. STILL TAILORED THE GRIDS TO REFLECT THE BEST CHANCES EAST THOUGH THE SHOWER THREAT IS NOT NEGLIGIBLE EVEN WESTERN CWA EARLY THIS MORNING GIVEN RECENT SATELLITE TRENDS. GIVEN THE STEEP LAPSE RATES IN PLACE REALLY CANT EVEN TOTALLY DISCOUNT THUNDER POTENTIAL BUT WILL STICK WITH JUST SHOWERS FOR NOW UNTIL MORE CONVINCING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS OTHERWISE. STILL WOULD ANTICIPATE ABRUPT CLEARING (WITH ONLY A FEW FLAT CU) THIS AFTERNOON AS SHARPENING UPPER TROUGH MOVES EAST WITH IMPRESSIVE SUBSIDENCE IN ITS WAKE. WHILE SYNOPTICALLY PRECIP CHANCES SHUT OFF WITH TROUGH PASSAGE...LAPSE RATES REALLY BEGIN TO STEEPEN UP OVER THE LAKE TONIGHT. LAKE-850MB DELTA T VALUES ARENT HUGE...BUT THE FORECASTED STEEP MID AND LOW LEVEL LAPSE RATES WOULD RESULT IN A DEEP CONVECTIVE CLOUD DEPTH AND WOULD EXPECT THE LAKE EFFECT MACHINE TO GET CRANKING TONIGHT. BRUNT OF THE LAKE EFFECT WILL LIKELY SET UP JUST EAST OF PORTER COUNTY BUT DOES APPEAR CLOSE ENOUGH TO INTRODUCE AT LEAST SMALL POPS INTO MAINLY NE PORTER CO TONIGHT. FAST ON THE HEELS OF TODAY'S TROUGH WILL BE ANOTHER FAIRLY VIGOROUS NORTHWEST FLOW SHORTWAVE DROPPING THROUGH THE WESTERN LAKES THURSDAY NIGHT. BRIEF SHOT OF WARM AIR ADVECTION AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM EXPECTED THURSDAY FOLLOWED BY A SLIGHTLY BETTER SHOT OF COLD AIR ADVECTION FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY EVENING. ALREADY BY FRIDAY NIGHT THE SFC RIDGE SHOULD BE OVERHEAD WITH WARM AIR ADVECTION ALOFT STARTING UP FOLLOWED BY A RAMPING UP OF WARM AIR ADVECTION AT THE SFC BY SATURDAY WITH INCREASING SOUTHERLY WINDS. HAVE NUDGED TEMP UPWARD SOME ON SATURDAY WITH A PRETTY GOOD SHOT OF MILD AIR EXPECTED TO SURGE NORTHWARD. THE NEXT SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS PROGGED TO PASS MUCH FARTHER NORTH THAN THE CURRENT AND THURSDAY NIGHT'S SHORTWAVE...SO MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE RESPONDS BY ALLOWING SURFACE FRONT TO STALL OUT AS IT BECOMES MORE ALIGNED WITH THE UPPER FLOW AS IT DROPS SOUTH INTO NORTHERN IL SAT NIGHT AND THEN LINGERS INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. CERTAINLY WITH A FRONT PROGGED TO SNUGGLE UP INTO OUR CWA AND TAKE UP RESIDENCE FOR A FEW DAYS THAT ADDS SOME COMPLEXITY TO PARTICULARLY THE TEMPERATURE FORECAST AND LOWER CONFIDENCE GREATLY. BUST POTENTIAL IS PRETTY HIGH FOR TEMPS DEPENDING ON WHERE THE BOUNDARY SETS UP SO GIVEN THE RELATIVELY LOW CONFIDENCE HAVE GENERALLY MADE FEW CHANGES TO GOING TEMPS. IZZI && .AVIATION... //ORD AND MDW CONCERNS...UPDATED 14Z... * TSRA DEPARTING ORD AND AFFECTING MDW UNTIL AROUND 15Z. * IMPROVEMENT OF 2000-3000 FT CEILINGS YET THIS MORNING. * NORTH-NORTHEAST WINDS TURNING NORTH-NORTHWEST EARLY THIS AFTERNOON WITH GUSTS TO 22-24 KT DEVELOPING. MDB //DISCUSSION...UPDATED 14Z... LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WHICH DEVELOPED OVER THE LAST 2 HOURS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EASTWARD THROUGH THE REST OF THE MORNING BEFORE DEPARTING GYY BETWEEN 16 AND 17Z OR SO. 2000 TO 3000 FT CEILINGS CONTINUE AROUND THE CHI METRO AND NW INDIANA BUT ARE EXPECTED TO SCATTER/EXIT OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS LEAVING VFR CONDITIONS IN PLACE. NORTH-NORTHEAST WINDS WILL SHIFT TO MORE OF A NORTH-NORTHWEST DIRECTION INTO EARLY AFTERNOON. FROM THE 12Z DISCUSSION... THE LEAD IMPULSE AND ITS SHOWERS WILL MOVE EAST OF THE ORD AND MDW AREA BY 1530Z. DRYING AND SUBSIDENCE IMMEDIATELY IN THE WAKE OF THIS FIRST SHORT WAVE WILL PROHIBIT AND ADDITIONAL PRECIPITATION LATER TODAY AS THE MAIN SHORT WAVE TROUGH MOVES ACROSS WI AND NORTHERN IL DURING THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON. PASSAGE OF THE LEAD WAVE COOLS MID LEVELS RESULTING IN A DRY ADIABATIC LAPSE RATE UP TO 800 HPA BY LATE AFTERNOON WITH SURFACE HEATING. THIS WILL ALLOW 20-25KT NORTHWEST FLOW IN LOWEST 2KM TO EFFICIENTLY MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE. TRS //ORD AND MDW CONFIDENCE...UPDATED 14Z... * HIGH CONFIDENCE IN TSRA DEPARTING MDW AROUND 15Z. * MEDIUM CONFIDENCE IN TIMING OF DEPARTURE OF 2000-3000 FT CEILINGS. * HIGH CONFIDENCE IN NORTH-NORTHEAST WINDS BECOMING NORTH- NORTHWEST INTO EARLY AFTERNOON WITH GUSTS TO 22-24 KT. MDB //OUTLOOK FOR ORD/MDW FOR 18Z THURSDAY-12Z MONDAY...UPDATED 06Z... THURSDAY...VFR. FRIDAY...VFR. SATURDAY...VFR. SUNDAY...VFR. MONDAY...VFR. MDB/TRS && .MARINE... 317 AM CDT AN ACTIVE PATTERN IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK AND THIS WEEKEND. A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY MOVING ACROSS THE LAKE THIS MORNING IS PRODUCING SOME ISOLATED SHOWERS AND ALLOWING NORTHWESTERLY FLOW TO PICK UP IN ITS WAKE. A BROAD AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE IS BUILDING ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS WITH RIDGING EXTENDING INTO ONTARIO. WINDS RIGHT BEHIND THE FRONT MAY BE STRONG ENOUGH FOR THE INDIANA NEARSHORES TO REACH SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CRITERIA LATER THIS MORNING...THOUGH MAYBE RATHER MARGINAL FOR MUCH OF THE DAY UNTIL LATER THIS AFTERNOON WHEN MODELS INDICATE INCREASING WINDS AS COLDER AIR ALOFT FINALLY ARRIVES. FOR NOW...THINK THAT THE STABLE INFLUENCE OVER LAND TONIGHT WILL INHIBIT MIXING ENOUGH THAT THE ILLINOIS SHORES WILL NOT REACH CRITERIA...THOUGH THIS WILL BE MONITORED FOR ANY CHANGES. WAVES WILL BUILD TO 3 TO 6 FEET ACROSS THE INDIANA NEARSHORES...AND WHILE WINDS WILL BEGIN TO DIMINISH AFTER MIDNIGHT...WAVES WILL NOT SUBSIDE BELOW CRITERIA UNTIL LATE THURSDAY MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON. LAKE EFFECT SHOWERS ALSO LOOKING QUITE POSSIBLE TONIGHT WITH NAM BUFR SOUNDINGS SHOWING CAPE VALUES UPWARD OF 1000 J/KG AND STEEP LAPSE RATES TO ABOVE 850MB. THERE IS ALSO A MARGINAL SETUP FOR WATERSPOUTS LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING AS LAKE INDUCED CLOUD DEPTHS EXPECTED TO APPROACH 20KFT. WINDS WILL GRADUALLY BECOME SOUTHWESTERLY AGAIN AS ANOTHER COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE LAKE ON THURSDAY EVENING. SEVERAL MODELS HAVE TRENDED UPWARD FROM PREVIOUS RUNS INDICATED THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONGEST WINDS TO APPROACH GALES FOR AT LEAST A FEW HOURS LATE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. THOUGH FOR NOW WILL KEEP FORECAST BELOW GALES...SHOULD ONCE AGAIN HIT SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS. BMD && .LOT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...NONE. IN...NONE. LM...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...INDIANA NEARSHORE WATERS UNTIL 7 AM THURSDAY. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL 328 AM CDT WED OCT 13 2010 ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032-033-039-INZ001-002-010-011-019- 140830- WINNEBAGO-BOONE-MCHENRY-LAKE ILLINOIS-OGLE-LEE-DE KALB-KANE- DUPAGE-COOK-LA SALLE-KENDALL-GRUNDY-WILL-KANKAKEE-LIVINGSTON- IROQUOIS-FORD-LAKE INDIANA-PORTER-NEWTON-JASPER-BENTON- 328 AM CDT WED OCT 13 2010 /428 AM EDT WED OCT 13 2010/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS... NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THERE IS AN OUTSIDE CHANCE OF A THUNDERSTORM THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY SOUTH AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 55. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NECESSARY THROUGH TONIGHT. && COMPLETE FORECAST INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE: WEATHER.GOV/CHICAGO LMZ740>745-140830- WINTHROP HARBOR TO WILMETTE HARBOR- WILMETTE HARBOR TO NORTHERLY ISLAND- NORTHERLY ISLAND TO CALUMET HARBOR-CALUMET HARBOR TO GARY- GARY TO BURNS HARBOR-BURNS HARBOR TO MICHIGAN CITY- 328 AM CDT WED OCT 13 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE ILLINOIS NEARSHORE WATERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN AND THE INDIANA NEARSHORE WATERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. STRONG WINDS AND HIGH WAVES WILL LEAD TO HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR SMALL CRAFT FROM LATE MORNING THROUGH TONIGHT ALONG THE INDIANA SHORE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. STRONG WINDS AND HIGH WAVES WILL LEAD TO HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR SMALL CRAFT THURSDAY MORNING ALONG THE INDIANA SHORE...AND THEN AGAIN LATE THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY ALONG BOTH THE ILLINOIS AND INDIANA SHORES. && COMPLETE FORECAST INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE: WEATHER.GOV/CHICAGO LMZ080-261-362-364-366-563-565-567-669-671-673-675-777-779-868- 870-872-874-876-878-140830- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM MICHIGAN CITY IN TO ST. JOSEPH MI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM SEUL CHOIX POINT TO ROCK ISLAND PASSAGE 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN SOUTH OF A LINE FROM SEUL CHOIX POINT TO THE MACKINAC BRIDGE AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM CHARLEVOIX MI TO SOUTH FOX ISLAND 5 NM OFFSHORE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM CHARLEVOIX TO POINT BETSIE MI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM POINT BETSIE TO MANISTEE MI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM ROCK ISLAND PASSAGE TO STURGEON BAY WI- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM STURGEON BAY TO TWO RIVERS WI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM TWO RIVERS TO SHEBOYGAN WI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM SHEBOYGAN TO PORT WASHINGTON WI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM PORT WASHINGTON TO NORTH POINT LIGHT WI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM NORTH POINT LIGHT TO WIND POINT WI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM WIND POINT WI TO WINTHROP HARBOR IL 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM WINTHROP HARBOR TO WILMETTE HARBOR IL 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM WILMETTE HARBOR IL TO MICHIGAN CITY IN 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM PENTWATER TO MANISTEE MI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM WHITEHALL TO PENTWATER MI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM GRAND HAVEN TO WHITEHALL MI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM HOLLAND TO GRAND HAVEN MI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM SOUTH HAVEN TO HOLLAND MI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- LAKE MICHIGAN FROM ST. JOSEPH TO SOUTH HAVEN MI 5 NM OFFSHORE TO MID LAKE- 328 AM CDT WED OCT 13 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE OPEN WATERS OF LAKE MICHIGAN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. && COMPLETE FORECAST INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE NWS CHICAGO WEBPAGE: WEATHER.GOV/CHICAGO IZZI
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:15 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck the chimney of a two story office building, causing bricks to collapse and shoot across the highway. A piece of brick shattered a window at another building. Busse Highway was shut down until debris could be removed.
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, October 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: 265262.