Low pressure tracking along a stationary frontal boundary triggered isolated thunderstorms across central Illinois during the late afternoon and early evening hours of April 25th. One cell produced a downburst in Logan County, resulting in scattered wind damage from near New Holland to Lincoln.
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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.
Low pressure tracking along a stationary frontal boundary triggered isolated thunderstorms across central Illinois during the late afternoon and early evening hours of April 25th. One cell produced a downburst in Logan County, resulting in scattered wind damage from near New Holland to Lincoln.
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 25, 1:27 PM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 227 PM CDT WED APR 25 2012 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 215 PM CDT WED APR 25 2012 18Z ILX SOUNDING CONTINUES TO DEPICT A STRONG CAP IN PLACE ACRS THE REGION AHEAD OF THE NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM OVER CENTRAL IOWA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. WARM FRONT DRAPPING FROM THE LOW OVER IOWA SE INTO WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS WILL DRIFT SLOWLY EAST AS THE LOW SHIFTS INTO CENTRAL IL THIS EVENING. DEW POINTS IN THE MID TO UPPER 50S... ABOUT 3 TO 6 DEGREES LOWER THAN MODEL FORECASTS...SEEN OVER WEST CENTRAL THRU SOUTHERN IL JUST SOUTH OF THE WARM FRONT. SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT FORECAST CHALLENGES THIS PERIOD INCLUDE CONVECTION CHANCES/COVERAGE THIS EVENING...AND THEN TIMING OF RAIN BACK INTO THE AREA LATE FRI OR SATURDAY AS SOUTHWEST SYSTEM EJECTS NE INTO THE MIDWEST. WEAK WAVE NOTED OVER CENTRAL IOWA SHIFTING QUICKLY SOUTHEAST WILL PUSH ACRS OUR AREA EARLY THIS EVENING. LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE ALONG THE FEATURE MAY BREAK THE CAP BUT NOT REAL CONFIDENT ON THAT SCENARIO BASED ON THE 18Z SOUNDING DATA. IF A STORM CAN BREAK THRU THE CAP...HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH AN ISOLD TORNADO A POSSIBILITY CLOSER TO THE WARM FRONT WHICH SHOULD BE OVER PARTS OF EAST CENTRAL IL EARLY THIS EVENING...HOWEVER WITH SUCH A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CIN DEPICTED ACRS THE AREA IN FORECAST SOUNDINGS...COVERAGE MAY BE HELD BACK QUITE A BIT. HIGHEST POPS... IN THE SCATTERED CATEGORY...WILL BE ACRS THE EAST AND SOUTHERN AREAS THIS EVENING...JUST AHEAD OF THE SFC WAVE AND BOUNDARY. FRONT AND ANY LEFT OVER CONVECTION SHOULD BE OUT OF THE AREA BY THURSDAY MORNING AS CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES IN FROM THE NORTH. THAT SHOULD KEEP THE AREA DRY THRU LATE THURSDAY NIGHT/FRI MORNING AS THE SHORTWAVE MOVING OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST U.S. SHIFTS NE INTO THE PLAINS. THIS SHOULD ACT TO BRING THE FRONT BACK NORTH AS A WARM FRONT LATE THURS NIGHT/FRIDAY MORNING. DRY EASTERLY FLOW WILL ACT TO RETARD THE NE MOVEMENT OF THE RAIN BUT BY FRIDAY MORNING...IT APPEARS AT LEAST THE WESTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA SHOULD SEE THE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVE IN WHICH IS CLOSER TO THE SLOWER ECMWF SOLUION. EVEN THE 12Z ECMWF IS HAVING A TOUGH TIME GENERATING MUCH IN THE WAY OF SIGNIFICANT QPF AS THE SYSTEM HEADS NE INTO THE DRIER AIR MASS. DOESN'T LOOK REAL PLEASANT ON FRIDAY WITH AN INCREASE IN CLOUD COVER...GUSTY EAST WINDS AND THE THREAT FOR RAIN...ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTN AND EVE. THIS WILL KEEP TEMPS ON THE CHILLY SIDE FRIDAY WITH AFTN HIGHS STRUGGLING THRU THE 50S...WITH READINGS AROUND 60 FAR SOUTH. RAIN CHANCES REMAIN ACRS THE AREA FRIDAY NIGHT THRU SATURDAY NIGHT AS A SERIES OF WEAK SURFACE WAVE MOVE ALONG THE STALLED BOUNDARY OVER THE OHIO VALLEY...WITH THE HIGHER POPS SHIFTING INTO THE SE PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA LATE SATURDAY/SATURDAY NIGHT. LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY UPPER FLOW FORECAST TO BECOME MORE PROGRESSIVE OVER THE LOWER 48 DURING THIS TIME FRAME WITH THE NEXT SHORTWAVE AND FRONTAL BOUNDARY AFFECTING THE AREA MAINLY ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK...BUT MODELS WERE HAVING A TOUGH TIME WITH THE SPEED OF THE SYSTEM EARLY NEXT WEEK. BASED ON A MORE PROGRESSIVE FLOW PATTERN SEEN IN ENSEMBLES DURING THIS FORECAST PERIOD...THE QUICKER SOLUTION SEEN WITH THE LATEST ECMWF SEEMS MORE REASONABLE AT THIS TIME. AS A RESULT...POPS INCREASE ACRS THE WEST LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND ALL AREAS SEE MENTIONABLE RAIN CHANCES TUE INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY BUT IF LATER MODEL RUNS CONTINUE WITH THE FASTER SOLUTIONS...WE MAY BE ABLE TO REMOVE POPS BY WEDNESDAY. AFTER A RATHER COOL START TO THE PERIOD...THE COLD CANADIAN HIGH JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE GREAT LAKES WILL FINALLY GET PUSHED AWAY FROM THE AREA BY TUESDAY...ALLOWING TEMPS TO RISE BACK TO OR ABOVE NORMAL. SMITH && .AVIATION... ISSUED 1255 PM CDT WED APR 25 2012 NOT MUCH IN THE WAY OF A SHIFT THIS AFTERNOON IN THE FORECAST. FRONT SLOW TO MOVE...AND WIND SHIFT POSTPONED A BIT. LIMITED MOISTURE AND SIGNIFICANT CIN KEEPING THE TS THREAT DOWN FOR NOW. WAVE TO THE WEST NOT COLLIDING WITH MAX HEATING...AND WILL KEEP THE MENTION TO VC STILL. BETTER CHANCES ARE IN THE EAST...MAYBE CMI LATER THIS AFTERNOON AROUND OR AFTER 00Z...BUT NOT ENOUGH CONFIDENCE TO GO WITH A TEMPO. FURTHER ALONG IN THE FORECAST...MODELS MISHANDLING MOISTURE IN THE BOUNDARY LAYER AND HINTING TO MVFR CIGS AFTER MIDNIGHT. HOWEVER...MOISTURE/PRECIP IS NOT MATERIALIZING AS ANTICIPATED...AND WILL BE A MAJOR CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO BOTH FOG AND STRATUS DEVELOPMENT. KEEPING SCT LOW IN FOR NOW...BUT NOT MORE. HJS && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 300 PM CDT WED APR 25 2012 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-261100- CASS-CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND- DE WITT-DOUGLAS-EDGAR-EFFINGHAM-FULTON-JASPER-KNOX-LAWRENCE-LOGAN- MACON-MARSHALL-MASON-MCLEAN-MENARD-MORGAN-MOULTRIE-PEORIA-PIATT- RICHLAND-SANGAMON-SCHUYLER-SCOTT-SHELBY-STARK-TAZEWELL-VERMILION- WOODFORD- 300 PM CDT WED APR 25 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE...PRIMARILY LATER THIS EVENING...AS A WEATHER SYSTEM TRACKS SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA. A FEW OF THE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE...WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS THE PRIMARY THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY THUNDERSTORM CHANCES RETURN TO THE AREA FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT AS A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING...PRIMARILY BETWEEN 6 PM AND 10 PM. HJS
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 19 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:01 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A large shed was destroyed just east of New Holland, with pieces of it blown across Illinois Route 10. In addition, most of the roof was torn off an agricultural supply building.
A tree was knocked down in Lincoln.
A tree was blown down across Route 121 and 2000th Avenue.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, April 2012
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: 371615, 371614, 371616, 371617.