A strong cold front triggered widely scattered thunderstorms across the area during the afternoon and evening of July 26th. A couple of the cells produced damaging wind gusts across portions of Tazewell and McLean counties.
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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.
A strong cold front triggered widely scattered thunderstorms across the area during the afternoon and evening of July 26th. A couple of the cells produced damaging wind gusts across portions of Tazewell and McLean counties.
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 26, 5:28 PM CST, 42 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 628 PM CDT THU JUL 26 2012 .DISCUSSION... ISSUED 300 PM CDT THU JUL 26 2012 SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY SPC ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 9 PM FOR OUR 8 SE COUNTIES ALONG AND SE OF I-70. SO FAR THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN CONFINED TO AREAS SOUTH OF I-64/I-44 IN SE MO...SOUTHERN IL... FAR SOUTHERN IN AND NW KY ALONG OUTFLOW/FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT SWEPT SE THROUGH CENTRAL IL THIS MORNING. A DEVELOPING LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT COULD BECOME STRONG TO EVEN SEVERE WAS OVER SE WI...NW IL AND SE IA NEAR THE QUAD CITIES AND MOVING ESE. THIS CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH COLD FRONT ATTACHED TO 1004 MB LOW PRESSURE JUST WEST OF APPLETON/FOX CITIES IN EAST CENTRAL WI. CENTRAL IL MAINLY BETWEEN THESE TWO FEATURES AND WILL JUST HAVE ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS INTO THIS EVENING MAINLY BEFORE SUNSET. WILL CONTINUE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS INTO THIS EVENING IN SE IL WHERE HEAT ADVISORY WILL KEEP GOING UNTIL 7 PM. MID AND HIGH CLOUDS KEEPING HEAT INDEXES BELOW 105F CLOSER TO 100F BUT THIS IS THE 4TH CONSECUTIVE DAY WITH HEAT INDICES AT OR ABOVE 100F SO WILL CONTINUE THE HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL EARLY EVENING. LOWS TONIGHT IN THE UPPER 60S CENTRAL IL AND LOWER 70S IN SE IL. WEAK LOW PRESSURE OVER EAST CENTRAL WI TO DIVE SE INTO NORTHERN INDIANA BY MIDDAY FRI AND BRING THE COLD FRONT SE INTO THE IL RIVER VALLEY BY 12Z/7 AM FRI AND THROUGH SE IL BY FRI AFTERNOON. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP AHEAD OF THIS FRONT FRI AFTERNOON MAINLY JUST SE OF LAWRENCEVILLE INTO INDIANA AND KY. SPC HAS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS FRI AFTERNOON OVER KY/TN AND CENTRAL/EASTERN INDIANA. KEPT OUR CWA DRY FRI BUT MAY BE CLOSE WITH ISOLATED CONVECTION BY THE WABASH RIVER EARLY FRI AFTERNOON. HIGHS FRI RANGE FROM THE UPPER 80S NW OF THE IL RIVER TO THE UPPER 90S IN SE IL AGAIN WITH HEAT INDICES PEAKING NEAR 100F BY LAWRENCEVILLE. LESS HUMID AIR ARRIVING FRIDAY AS DEWPOINTS SLIP INTO THE UPPER 50S AND LOWER 60S BEHIND THIS 2ND FRONT. QUIET WEATHER EXPECTED FRIDAY NIGHT AND SAT WITH WEAK HIGH PRESSURE 1019 MB DRIFTING EAST OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION AND UPPER LEVEL TROF EAST/NE OF IL. HIGHS SAT GENERALLY IN THE UPPER 80S AND LOWER 90S SO COOLER IN SE IL TOO BY THEN. MODELS HAVE TRENDED FASTER WITH A SHORT WAVE TRACKING SE INTO THE MID MS VALLEY SAT NIGHT AND SUNDAY AND ADDED 20-30% CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO WESTERN AREAS SAT NIGHT/SUNDAY. HIGHS SUNDAY AGAIN IN THE UPPER 80S AND LOWER 90S WITH WARMEST READINGS SW. DEWPOINTS START TO RISE ON SUNDAY INTO THE MID TO UPPER 60S SO NOT AS COMFORTABLE AS SAT. LONG TERM...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY HEAT AND HUMIDITY TO GRADUALLY BUILD BACK INTO CENTRAL AND SE IL DURING THIS TIME FRAME AS 595 DM 500 MB SUBTROPICAL RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE CENTRAL ROCKIES AND SOUTHERN PLAINS. EXPECT HIGHS IN THE LOWER 90S WITH SW AREAS IN THE MID 90S. IL WILL BE IN A WNW UPPER LEVEL FLOW WITH A FEW UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES TRACKING ESE NEAR IL. THIS TO BRING ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE AREA FROM SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUE...THOUGH MAINLY IN EASTERN IL TUE. TIMING AND POSITION OF THESE DISTURBANCES DIFFICULT THAT FAR OUT BUT DID TRIM POPS DOWN OVERALL FROM THE ALLBLEND POPS WITH MOST OF CWA IN A EXTREME DROUGHT (D3). KH && .AVIATION... ISSUED 628 PM CDT THU JUL 26 2012 LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS COMING ACROSS THE ILLINOIS RIVER AND SHOULD AFFECT ALL SITES. HOWEVER...AS WITH THE CONVECTION LAST NIGHT...IT DISSIPATED AS IT MOVED EAST. SO WILL JUST HAVE VCSH FOR ALL SITES EXCEPT PIA...WHERE HAVE INCLUDED 1HR TEMPO GROUP FOR THUNDERSTORM. IF OTHER SITES APPEAR TO BE THREATEN WITH THUNDERSTORMS BEYOND VICINITY...THEN WILL AMEND WHEN KNOW FOR SURE. ONCE THIS MOVES THROUGH AND/OR DISSIPATES THEN THERE WILL BE SCATTERED CLOUDS REMAINDER OF TAF PERIOD. WINDS WILL BE WESTERLY THIS EVENING...BUT VARIABLE AND STRONGER AS THE STORM MOVES THROUGH PIA. THEN VARIABLE AFTER PCPN ENDS IN 2-3 HOURS...FOLLOWED BY WESTERLY AGAIN TOMORROW. AUTEN && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 310 PM CDT THU JUL 26 2012 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061-271100- CASS-CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-COLES-DE WITT-DOUGLAS-EDGAR-FULTON-KNOX- LOGAN-MACON-MARSHALL-MASON-MCLEAN-MENARD-MORGAN-MOULTRIE-PEORIA- PIATT-SANGAMON-SCHUYLER-SCOTT-SHELBY-STARK-TAZEWELL-VERMILION- WOODFORD- 310 PM CDT THU JUL 26 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH EARLY EVENING. ORGANIZED SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL PROVIDE THE NEXT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TONIGHT. ILZ062-063-066>068-071>073-271100- CLARK-CLAY-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-RICHLAND- 310 PM CDT THU JUL 26 2012 ...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 SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING. A FEW OF THE STORMS MAY BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL PROVIDE THE NEXT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THROUGH 9 PM THIS EVENING. BAK
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
600 PM CDT THU JUL 26 2012
ILZ029-036-037-041-262345-
FULTON-MASON-PEORIA-TAZEWELL-
600 PM CDT THU JUL 26 2012
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHEASTERN FULTON...
NORTHEASTERN MASON...SOUTHERN PEORIA AND WESTERN TAZEWELL COUNTIES
UNTIL 645 PM CDT...
AT 557 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM NEAR FARMINGTON...OR 11 MILES NORTH OF CANTON...
MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MPH.
WINDS CLOSE TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.
LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
TRIVOLI...
HANNA CITY...
GLASFORD...
BELLEVUE...
BARTONVILLE...
PEKIN...
OTHER LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...NORRIS...SMITHVILLE...KINGSTON
MINES...MAPLETON...NORTH PEKIN AND POWERTON.
PEOPLE NEAR THESE LOCATIONS SHOULD MONITOR THE WEATHER SITUATION
CLOSELY. LISTEN FOR POSSIBLE WARNINGS...AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE
APPROPRIATE ACTION SHOULD SEVERE WEATHER THREATEN.
LAT...LON 4068 8947 4035 8971 4062 9013 4072 9004
4072 8999 4078 8999 4080 8997
TIME...MOT...LOC 2301Z 301DEG 27KT 4070 9000
AUTENThe Lincoln radar (KILX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:09 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous trees and tree branches were blown down. Power lines were knocked downed as well, creating a power outage in Armington. In addition, the roof of an old school was damaged.
A two to three-foot diameter hollow tree branch was broken out of a tree and fell onto a house. Several other tree branches and power lines were blown down around town.
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, July 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: 393934, 393935.