A rapidly deepening area of low pressure tracked from near Kansas City to southwest Wisconsin by the evening of February 20th. Thunderstorms developed along the trailing cold front across Missouri during the early afternoon, then pushed eastward into central Illinois during the late afternoon into the early evening.
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.
A rapidly deepening area of low pressure tracked from near Kansas City to southwest Wisconsin by the evening of February 20th. Thunderstorms developed along the trailing cold front across Missouri during the early afternoon, then pushed eastward into central Illinois during the late afternoon into the early evening. Eight tornadoes touched down across central Illinois, including an EF-2 tornado south of Pana in Christian County. In addition, high rainfall rates associated with the storms combined with rapid snow-melt to produce widespread flash flooding, mainly east of the I-55 corridor.
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 Feb 20, 1:15 PM CST, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lincoln IL 115 PM CST Thu Feb 20 2014 .MESOSCALE DISCUSSION... ISSUED 114 PM CST Thu Feb 20 2014 Warm front getting a substantial push northward and is starting to come into Bloomington. Still have mid to upper 30s to the north, but widespread upper 50s to near 60 south. Dew points of 50 degrees now as far north as Lincoln. Line of thunderstorms rapidly filling in across central Missouri, in an area where some clearing helped destabilize the atmosphere, with surface based CAPE's around 1000 J/kg per SPC mesoanalysis page. HRRR has been doing a good job with the development and placement of this line. HRRR and extrapolation tool on AWIPS indicate the line should move into the western CWA between 2:30 and 3 pm and reach the eastern counties between 4-5 pm. Still several inches of snow cover across the north which will help stabilize things, but Springfield has lost 4 inches of snow depth just this morning and much of what's left will be gone very soon, helping with the instability. RAP model showing MUCAPE's around 800 J/kg across the central and southeast CWA by mid afternoon, helping to sustain the storms. VAD wind profile off our radar showing 55 knots at the 925 mb level, so plenty of wind in the low levels for the storms to try and bring downward toward the surface. Geelhart && .AVIATION... ISSUED 1155 AM CST Thu Feb 20 2014 Warm front has lifted just north of KSPI/KDEC/KCMI, shifting winds back around to the south and gusting to around 25-30 knots, while east winds around 10 knots continue further north. Should see the front continue to lift northward over the next couple of hours. Have had some areas of dense fog primarily north of the front, as a significant increase in low level moisture moves in with the front, but this is likely to fade out in the next couple hours. Line of convection starting to form in central Missouri, and will move east through central Illinois mid to late afternoon. Have included about a 3 hour period of VCTS at each TAF site for now, and will update later to narrow down the time frame once the line becomes more mature. A cold front will pass by shortly behind the line of storms, switching winds to the west. Still looks like gusts of 35-45 knots will be likely this evening, as impressive pressure rises spread across the state in the wake of a deepening low pressure passage. Wraparound snow showers may spread as far south as KPIA/KBMI after 06Z. Have maintained the MVFR conditions through the night, before improvement early Friday morning. Winds by Friday morning not quite as high, but still gusting in the 30 knot vicinity. Geelhart && .PREV DISCUSSION... ISSUED 1010 AM CST Thu Feb 20 2014 Warm frontal boundary is waffling along the I-72 corridor this morning, with 40s and 50s south and 30s to the north. Most of the precipitation over the last few hours has been on the cold side of the storm, especially across the far northwest CWA where thunderstorms have produced some pea size hail as well. That particular area has received 1 to 1.5 inches of rain since yesterday evening. The front extends to parent low pressure along the Kansas/Missouri border. Focus remains with the winds, precipitation and temperature trends. Have sent some zone/grid updates recently to reflect a period of lower PoP's into early afternoon, and as the front lifts northward, before the main activity develops toward mid to late afternoon. Latest Day1 convective outlook pushed the slight risk back northwest to around Shelbyville, reflective of the slower arrival of the cold front, with damaging winds still the primary threat. The cold front should push to around I-57 by sunset and exit the state shortly after that. The post-frontal period is when the winds will really start ramping up, as the low experiences substantial and rapid intensification this afternoon as it moves into southwest Wisconsin. 3-hour pressure rises of around 10 mb will push through Missouri late this afternoon and across the CWA early this evening. Wind gusts outside the storms still look to reach around 45 mph by late afternoon and 50-60 mph this evening. Geelhart && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY until 3 AM CST Friday FOR ILZ056-061>063-066>068- 071>073. HIGH WIND WARNING until 3 AM CST Friday FOR ILZ027>031-036>038- 040>055-057. FLOOD WATCH until 6 PM CST this evening FOR ILZ027>031-036>038- 040>053. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 1111 AM CST THU FEB 20 2014 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>053-211200- CASS-CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-DE WITT-FULTON-KNOX-LOGAN-MACON-MARSHALL- MASON-MCLEAN-MENARD-MORGAN-PEORIA-PIATT-SANGAMON-SCHUYLER-SCOTT- STARK-TAZEWELL-VERMILION-WOODFORD- 1111 AM CST THU FEB 20 2014 ...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... ...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 3 AM CST FRIDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND QUICKLY MOVE EAST. WHILE SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT LIKELY... ISOLATED STORMS MAY PRODUCE STRONG WINDS. ANOTHER HALF INCH OF RAIN IS LIKELY...CONTINUING THE THREAT FOR FLOODING. RIVER LEVELS WILL BE ON THE RISE...AND THERE IS SOME POTENTIAL FOR MINOR RIVER FLOODING TO DEVELOP. THIS WILL BE ENHANCED BY THE POTENTIAL FOR ICE JAMS...AS THE WARM TEMPERATURES AND WATER RUNOFF CAUSE ICE TO BREAK UP AND MOVE DOWNSTREAM. STRONG SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED BEHIND THE STORM LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...WITH GUSTS OF 50 TO 60 MPH LIKELY FOR A PERIOD LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED THROUGH TONIGHT. ILZ056-061>063-066>068-071>073-211200- CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE- RICHLAND-SHELBY- 1111 AM CST THU FEB 20 2014 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 3 AM CST FRIDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...WITH DAMAGING WINDS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT. TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF HALF AN INCH ARE LIKELY. THE RAINFALL AND WATER FROM SNOW MELT WILL CAUSE A FEW FLOODING PROBLEMS...ESPECIALLY IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND WHERE STORM DRAINS ARE CLOGGED BY ICE AND SNOW. RIVER LEVELS WILL BE ON THE RISE AS WELL. STRONG SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED BEHIND THE STORM TONIGHT...WITH GUSTS OF 45 TO 50 MPH LIKELY THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY MINOR RIVER FLOODING IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE LITTLE WABASH...EMBARRAS...AND WABASH RIVERS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY THIS EVENING...MAINLY BETWEEN 3 PM AND 8 PM. ILZ054-055-057-211200- DOUGLAS-EDGAR-MOULTRIE- 1111 AM CST THU FEB 20 2014 ...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 3 AM CST FRIDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR DOUGLAS...EDGAR AND MOULTRIE COUNTIES. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON. SOME OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...WITH DAMAGING WINDS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THREAT. TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF HALF AN INCH ARE LIKELY. THE RAINFALL AND WATER FROM SNOW MELT WILL CAUSE A FEW FLOODING PROBLEMS...ESPECIALLY IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS AND WHERE STORM DRAINS ARE CLOGGED BY ICE AND SNOW. RIVER LEVELS WILL BE ON THE RISE AS WELL. STRONG SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED BEHIND THE STORM LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...WITH GUSTS OF 50 TO 60 MPH LIKELY FOR A PERIOD LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...MAINLY BETWEEN 3 PM AND 8 PM. GEELHART
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1018 AM CST THU FEB 20 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0700 AM HEAVY RAIN VARNA 41.04N 89.22W
02/20/2014 M0.97 INCH MARSHALL IL CO-OP OBSERVER
24-HOUR RAINFALL.
0700 AM HEAVY RAIN MINONK 40.90N 89.04W
02/20/2014 M0.74 INCH WOODFORD IL CO-OP OBSERVER
24-HOUR RAINFALL.
0700 AM HEAVY RAIN HAVANA 40.30N 90.06W
02/20/2014 M0.80 INCH MASON IL CO-OP OBSERVER
24 HOUR RAINFALL.
0800 AM HEAVY RAIN 5 NW PEORIA 40.80N 89.68W
02/20/2014 M0.79 INCH PEORIA IL CO-OP OBSERVER
24-HOUR RAINFALL.
0800 AM HEAVY RAIN LACON 41.02N 89.41W
02/20/2014 M0.82 INCH MARSHALL IL CO-OP OBSERVER
24-HOUR RAINFALL.
&&
LAUFENBERGPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1205 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1155 AM HEAVY RAIN 1 NW KNOXVILLE 40.92N 90.30W
02/20/2014 M2.34 INCH KNOX IL COCORAHS
STORM TOTAL, WITH 0.97 INCHES IN THE LAST 5 HOURS.
&&
GEELHARTPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
243 PM CST THU FEB 20 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0229 PM HEAVY RAIN ALTONA 41.12N 90.16W
02/20/2014 M2.34 INCH KNOX IL CO-OP OBSERVER
STORM TOTAL SO FAR. 0.92 SINCE 6 AM.
0229 PM FLOOD ALTONA 41.12N 90.16W
02/20/2014 KNOX IL CO-OP OBSERVER
ONE FOOT OF WATER OVER ROADS BETWEEN ALTONA AND ONEIDA,
AND ONEIDA AND WATAGA.
&&
25The Lincoln radar (KILX), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:47 UTC.
11 tornado, 10 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A tornado briefly touched down in an open field about 0.7 miles north of Bethel. No damage was reported.
A tornado touched down in an open field 2.4 miles west of Concord at 2:52 PM CST. The tornado tracked northeastward and crossed into Cass County 5.5 miles northeast of Concord at 2:59 PM CST. No damage was reported.
This tornado crossed into Cass County from Morgan County 3.8 miles east of Arenzville at 2:59 PM CST. It dissipated 4.5 miles east of Arenzville at 3:00 PM CST with no damage reported.
A tornado briefly touched down about 1.7 miles east of Divernon at 3:43 PM CST. The tornado tore the roof off a barn before lifting at 3:44 PM CST.
A tornado touched down at 3:57 PM CST 3 miles south of Mechanicsburg. The tornado tracked northeastward damaging numerous outbuildings and the roofs of several homes. A trailer was flipped over, multiple power poles were snapped, and numerous trees were damaged as well before the tornado lifted 2.6 miles west of Illiopolis at 4:06 PM CST.
This tornado crossed from Montgomery County in the National Weather Service St. Louis County Warning Area (CWA) into Shelby County about 2.6 miles northwest of Oconee at 4:14 PM CST. Mainly tree damage occurred along the path of the tornado before it crossed into Christian County 4.4 miles north-northeast of Oconee at 4:19 PM CST.
This tornado crossed into Christian County from Shelby County 2.9 miles south of Pana at 4:19 PM CST. The tornado damaged several outbuildings, trees and a garage south and east of Pana before crossing back into Shelby County 3.0 miles east of Pana at 4:25 PM CST.
This tornado crossed into Shelby County from Christian County 3.6 miles west of Tower Hill at 4:25 PM CST. The tornado increased in intensity, doing significant damage to the roof of a house and causing one minor injury about 3 miles north-northwest of Tower Hill. The tornado continued to the northeast, dissipating near the intersection of county roads 1700 North and 1200 East, or 3 miles west-southwest of Westerveldt at 4:33 PM CST.
Rainfall of 0.50 to 1.00 combined with a frozen ground to produce flash flooding across northern and central Sangamon County. Many streets in Springfield were flooded and most rural roads were impassable. A water rescue of a woman and her child was made from a car stranded in flooding on a rural road near Dawson.
A tornado briefly touched down in an open field 3.3 miles west-southwest of Findlay at 4:40 PM CST. The tornado dissipated at 4:41 PM CST with no damage reported.
A tornado touched down in an open field 4 miles west-southwest of Shumway at 4:54 PM CST. The tornado tracked northeastward, crossing state highway 33 between Shumway and Beecher City. The tornado snapped several power poles as it crossed the highway before dissipating in an open field 3 miles west-northwest of Shumway at 4:56 PM CST.
Rainfall of 0.50 to 1.00 combined with 2 of snow depth and a frozen ground to produce flash flooding across most of Logan County. Many streets in Lincoln were flooded and most rural roads were impassable. The water was one foot deep in spots and several cars had to be abandoned.
Rainfall of 0.50 to 1.00 combined with a frozen ground to produce flash flooding across northern and central Macon County. Many streets in Decatur were flooded and most rural roads were impassable. Nearly all of the roads in northwest Macon County, including Illinois Route 121 from Warrensburg to the Logan County line, were closed.
Rainfall of 0.50 to 1.00 combined with 2 of snow depth and a frozen ground to produce rapid flash flooding across most of DeWitt County. Many streets in Clinton were flooded and most rural roads were impassable. Several bridges in the rural parts of the county were also flooded.
Rainfall of 0.50 to 1.00 combined with 2 of snow depth and a frozen ground to produce flash flooding across most of Champaign County. Many streets in Champaign, Urbana, Sydney and Mahomet were flooded and most rural roads were impassable.
Rainfall of 0.50 to 1.00 combined with 1 to 2 of snow depth and a frozen ground to produce flash flooding across most of Piatt County. Many streets in Monticello were flooded and most rural roads were impassable.
A tornado touched down 3.9 miles west-southwest of Chrisman. It crossed U.S. Highway 36 near 1275th St. and tracked another 1.5 miles, dissipating before it reached 1400th St. No damage was reported.
Rainfall of 0.50 to 1.00 combined with 3 to 7 of snow depth and a frozen ground to produce flash flooding across most of McLean County. Many streets in Bloomington and Normal were flooded and most rural roads were impassable.
Rainfall of 0.50 to 1.00 combined with 2 of snow depth and a frozen ground to produce flash flooding across much of Vermilion County. Many streets in Danville were flooded and most rural roads were impassable.
Rainfall of 0.50 to 1.00 combined with a frozen ground to produce flash flooding across northern Moultrie County. Most rural roads were impassable. Illinois Route 133 between Lovington and Arthur was closed.
Rainfall of 0.50 to 1.00 combined with a frozen ground to produce flash flooding across southern Shelby County. Most rural roads were impassable. Illinois Route 128 south of Shelbyville to Cowden and U.S. Highway 51 from south of Oconee to the Fayette County line was closed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 2014Warnings in Illinois, February 2014
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: 499880, 499898, 499900, 499885, 499888, 499891, 499893, 499894, 504051, 499895, 499896, 504037, 504046, 504019, 504030, 504042, 499897, 504025, 504054, 504052, 504053.