A tight pressure gradient between a high along the East Coast and a strong cold front over the Plains produced strong winds across central Illinois on November 13th. where gusts frequently exceeded 50 mph.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 tight pressure gradient between a high along the East Coast and a strong cold front over the Plains produced strong winds across central Illinois on November 13th. The strongest winds were focused along and south of Taylorville to Danville line...where gusts frequently exceeded 50 mph. As a result, minor wind damage was reported around the area.
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 Nov 13, 7:35 AM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 735 AM CST SUN NOV 13 2011 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 327 AM CST SUN NOV 13 2011 A BIT OF A LULL IN THE MIDWEST BETWEEN SYSTEMS CONTINUES...THOUGH THE WINDS WILL PICK UP TODAY EVEN HIGHER THAN YESTERDAY IN THE APPROACH OF THE NEXT FRONT. HIGH PRESSURE SLIDING OFF THE SERN COAST...AND THE FLOW ALOFT STRUGGLING TO REMAIN QUASI ZONAL AS TWO SEPARATE WAVES SPLIT THE FLOW AT 500 MB ON THE WEST COAST. THIS SPLIT...AND HANDLING OF THE TWO UPPER VORTS WILL BE THE MAIN DRIVER OF THIS FORECAST THROUGH DAY 3. WEAK BOUNDARY MOVING THROUGH TODAY AND SETTLING INTO THE SOUTHEAST TO BE THE FOCUS OF SHOWERS FOR THE MIDWEST FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. MODELS HAVE PLENTY OF DIFFERENCE IN THE TIMING...AREAL EXTENT OF QPF...AND THE DIFFERENCES ONLY GET MORE AND MORE VAST INTO THE EXTENDED AS THE PATTERN OVER THE CONUS BECOMES INCREASINGLY AMPLIFIED INTO NEXT WEEKEND. SHORT TERM...TODAY AND TOMORROW... WINDS NOT REALLY LETTING UP TOO MUCH IN THE OVERNIGHT HOURS THIS MORNING...AND THE UNSEASONABLY WARMER TEMPS CONTINUE. TODAYS WINDS INCREASE EVEN MORE AND WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA SHOULD BE MET IN THE GUST CATEGORY FOR A GOOD PART OF THE DAY...WITH WINDS JUST OFF THE DECK IN EXCESS OF 35 KTS. WEAK FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH NORTHERN STREAM WAVE PASSES TODAY...LAYING DOWN A SFC BOUNDARY THROUGH THE FA...STALLING IN PARALLEL FLOW ALONG THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY OR THEREABOUTS. MOISTURE IS SOMEWHAT LIMITED FOR THIS ROUND...AND THE POPS ARE KEPT LOW AS A RESULT FOR SOME SCT SHOWERS TODAY. MAJORITY OF PRECIP LIKELY TO BE TRACES/SPRINKLES...BUT CANNOT RULE OUT A HUNDREDTH OR TWO. SECOND AND DEEPER LOW EJECTS OUT OF THE DESERT SW AND MAKES ITS WAY UP AND ALONG THE BOUNDARY...INTERACTING WITH IT FOR MONDAY/MON NIGHT. IN OTHER WORDS... WEAK FRONT SUN SETTING UP FOR BETTER WAVE ON MONDAY TO BRING GOOD SHOT AT SHOWERS...WITH THREAT OF TS A BIT SCT DUE TO LATE TIMING OF THE BOUNDARY PASSAGE. HOWEVER...QPF LIKELY TO BE CONSIDERABLY HIGHER IN THE SE AS THE FRONT STALLS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70...AND SETS UP A SITUATION FOR ANY SMALL WAVE TO SEND QPF ALONG THE BOUNDARY. LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... BIGGER PUSH OF COOLER AND DRIER AIR EXPECTED LATE TUESDAY AS FLOW PHASES AND AMPLIFIES INTO A MORE NWRLY PATTERN FOR THE MIDWEST...SCOURING OUT THE MOISTURE AND CHANGING THE SFC WINDS BACK TO A BIT MORE NRLY. DRY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK FOR NOW...WITH ANOTHER SET UP COMING FOR NEXT WEEKEND. HOWEVER... SYSTEM NEXT WEEKEND NOWHERE NEAR SOLID ENOUGH FOR HIGH POPS. LAST RUN...THE ECMWF STILL NOT SHOWING ANY RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY. AND THIS RUN...SEEMS THE GFS IS A BIT MORE AGGRESSIVE...WITH NEITHER TIMING THE UPPER WAVE PROPERLY. HAVE TRENDED THOSE POPS WAY DOWN IN LIGHT OF MORE THAN 24 HRS BETWEEN SOLNS. HJS && .AVIATION... ISSUED 700 AM CST SUN NOV 13 2011...FOR THE 12Z TAFS STRONG WINDS WILL HIGHLIGHT THE TAFS TODAY. SUSTAINED 20-30KT AND 30-40KT SOUTH GUSTS WILL VEER TO THE SW WITH TIME AS THE COLD FRONT REACHES PIA/SPI BY 17Z-18Z. LLWS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH 14Z OR SO AS THE 925MB WINDS REMAIN AT 50-60KT. THE FRONT WILL SLOW DOWN IN THE AFTERNOON...REACHING CMI/DEC BY 21Z OR SO. THE FRONTAL PASSAGE WILL SHIFT WINDS TO SW AT ALL TERMINALS...WITH THE WINDS REMAINING SW OVERNIGHT AND DIMINISHING TO 15KT. SOME MVFR CLOUDS ARE LINGERING JUST SOUTHEAST OF DEC/CMI EARLY THIS MORNING...AND MAY LIFT N TOWARD THE TAF SITES WITH TIME. WE WENT WITH MVFR CIGS FOR THEM AFTER 14Z THROUGH MID DAY. MIXING OF DRY AIR SHOULD HELP CIGS LIFT TO VFR OR DISSIPATE ALTOGETHER...LEAVING JUST MID AND HIGH CLOUDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT. SHIMON && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING FOR ILZ027>031-036>038- 040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 549 AM CST SUN NOV 13 2011 ILZ027>031-036>038-040-041-141200- FULTON-KNOX-MARSHALL-MASON-MCLEAN-PEORIA-SCHUYLER-STARK-TAZEWELL- WOODFORD- 549 AM CST SUN NOV 13 2011 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR TODAY AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. WIND GUSTS AROUND 45 MPH ARE LIKELY...WITH THE LATE MORNING AND MIDDAY HOURS EXPECTED TO BE THE WINDIEST. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE REQUIRED. ILZ042>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-141200- CASS-CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND- DE WITT-DOUGLAS-EDGAR-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-LOGAN-MACON- MENARD-MORGAN-MOULTRIE-PIATT-RICHLAND-SANGAMON-SCOTT-SHELBY- VERMILION- 549 AM CST SUN NOV 13 2011 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT WINDY CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR ON SUNDAY AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 45 MPH ARE LIKELY...WITH THE LATE MORNING AND MIDDAY HOURS EXPECTED TO BE THE WINDIEST. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TONIGHT...AS THE FRONT STALLS OUT ACROSS SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. NO SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...AS THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY CONTINUES TO LINGER OVER THE AREA. THESE ARE CURRENTLY NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. SHIMON
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was blown down into powerlines, causing a fire and power outages to parts of Decatur.
The roof of a covered bridge was blown off at the C.H. Moore Homestead in Clinton.
A large restaurant sign was blown over on the west side of Rantoul.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, November 2011
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: 353807, 353808, 353809.