A cold front interacting with a warm and very humid airmass triggered several lines of strong to severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening of June 7th. one in Menard County about 8 miles east of Petersburg and another in Piatt County 4 miles east of Monticello.
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 cold front interacting with a warm and very humid airmass triggered several lines of strong to severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening of June 7th. Two brief tornadoes touched down...one in Menard County about 8 miles east of Petersburg and another in Piatt County 4 miles east of Monticello. Numerous reports of wind damage were received, with the city of Peoria being particularly hard hit. 70 to 80 mph winds caused widespread tree and power line damage from Peoria eastward into Pekin. Large hail also occurred with many of the storms, with the largest stones up to the size of golf balls. In addition, heavy rainfall of 3 to 8 inches resulted in extensive flash flooding and numerous road closures in parts of central and southeast Illinois.
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 Jun 7, 2:29 PM CST, 31 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 329 PM CDT SUN JUN 7 2015 .SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT) ISSUED AT 329 PM CDT SUN JUN 7 2015 20Z/3PM RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS THUNDERSTORMS BEGINNING TO INITIATE AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT...MAINLY ALONG A HENRY...TO GALESBURG...TO FORT MADISON IOWA LINE. THESE STORMS WILL BE INTERACTING WITH A STRONGLY UNSTABLE AIRMASS ACROSS CENTRAL ILLINOIS...CHARACTERIZED BY SBCAPE VALUES OF 3000 TO 3500J/KG. 0-6KM BULK SHEAR OF 30-35KT SHOULD HELP ENHANCE/SUSTAIN THE THUNDERSTORM CELLS AS THEY TRACK E/SE ACROSS THE AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH AND LARGE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY THREATS. HRRR SHOWS THE CONVECTION PUSHING ACROSS MAINLY THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE KILX CWA...THEN EXITING INTO INDIANA BY AROUND 01Z. AFTER THAT...MODELS ARE SUGGESTING THAT ADDITIONAL CONVECTION WILL DEVELOP ACROSS MISSOURI THIS EVENING...THEN PUSH EASTWARD INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS OVERNIGHT. BY THAT POINT THE AIRMASS WILL LIKELY HAVE BEEN STABILIZED BY THE FIRST ROUND OF CONVECTION EARLY IN THE EVENING...SO ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER APPEARS MINIMAL. DESPITE THIS...AM STILL CONCERNED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINFALL GIVEN PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES FROM 1.50 TO 1.75. SINCE THERE IS CURRENTLY A MONTHLY AND YEARLY RAINFALL DEFICIT ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND THE STORMS WILL BE PROGRESSIVE IN NATURE...THINK WIDESPREAD FLASH FLOODING IS UNLIKELY. WILL THEREFORE NOT ISSUE A FLASH FLOOD WATCH...BUT INSTEAD HIT HEAVY RAIN THREAT HARD IN THE HWO...ZONE FORECAST...AND ESF. && .LONG TERM...(MONDAY THROUGH SUNDAY) ISSUED AT 329 PM CDT SUN JUN 7 2015 THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAINFALL WILL LINGER IN THE SOUTHEAST TOMORROW FOLLOWED BY A WEAK TROUGH THAT WILL ROTATE THROUGH THE GRT LKS REGION TOMORROW AFTERNOON THROUGH TOMORROW EVENING. THEN AS EVERYTHING PUSHES FURTHER EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF THE AREA DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED LATE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WED NIGHT. MODELS CONTINUE TO TRY AND BRING SOME PCPN INTO THE REGION FOR WE AND WED NIGHT BUT BELIEVE MOISTURE WILL BE LIMITED SO IF THERE IS ANY PCPN THEN IT WILL BE WIDELY SCATTERED AND ONLY WORTH A SLIGHT CHANCE IN THE GRIDS...WHICH WILL NOT BE MENTIONED IN THE WORDED FORECAST AT THIS TIME. AS UPPER LEVEL RIDGE TAKES HOLD OVER THE AREA AND TROUGH DEVELOPS OUT IN THE PLAINS...PCPN CHANCES WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE AGAIN FOR LATE IN THE WEEK AND INTO THE WEEKEND. MODELS HAVE SOME DIFFERENCES SO WILL JUST KEEP CHANCE POPS IN THE NORTH OF THUR AND THUR NIGHT...AND THEN OVER THE WHOLE AREA FOR FRI THROUGH SUNDAY. TEMPS WILL REMAIN WARM THROUGH THE PERIOD...SITTING IN THE MID TO UPPER 80S MOST OF THE AREA. HIGHS AROUND 90 WILL BE POSSIBLE AT TIMES. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 1255 PM CDT SUN JUN 7 2015 MAIN AVIATION FORECAST CONCERN CONTINUES TO BE TIMING OF CONVECTIVE INITIATION LATER TODAY. 1730Z RADAR/SATELLITE MOSAICS SHOW A LULL IN THE ACTIVITY FOR THE TIME BEING...HOWEVER AS THE ATMOSPHERE CONTINUES TO DESTABILIZE AND A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST...THUNDERSTORMS WILL RE-DEVELOP LATER THIS AFTERNOON. MODEL SOLUTIONS VARY GREATLY...SO THEY ARE OF LITTLE USE TO THE FORECAST. GENERAL CONSENSUS SUGGESTS STORMS WILL DEVELOP SLIGHTLY LATER THAN PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED...WITH A LINE OF CONVECTION FORMING FROM NEAR KORD TO KGBG AROUND 20Z. HAVE TAILORED THE AVIATION FORECAST ACCORDINGLY...FEATURING TEMPO GROUP FOR THUNDER AND MVFR CEILINGS BETWEEN 21Z AND 01Z AT KPIA...THEN BETWEEN 23Z AND 02Z FURTHER SOUTH AT THE I-72 TERMINALS. ONCE THE INITIAL LINE OF STORMS PASSES...MANY MODELS HINT THAT ADDITIONAL SHOWERS/STORMS MAY DEVELOP AND MOVE INTO THE AREA OVERNIGHT. HAVE HANDLED THAT WITH PREDOMINANT RAIN WITH VCTS THROUGH THE 08-09Z TIME FRAME. AFTER THAT HAVE GONE DRY WITH A VFR CEILING FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE 18Z TAF PERIOD. && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...BARNES LONG TERM...AUTEN AVIATION...BARNES
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 347 PM CDT SUN JUN 7 2015 ILZ027>031-036>038-040-041-081100- FULTON-KNOX-MARSHALL-MASON-MCLEAN-PEORIA-SCHUYLER-STARK-TAZEWELL- WOODFORD- 347 PM CDT SUN JUN 7 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG AN ADVANCING COLD FRONT THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...PRODUCING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...HAIL UP TO QUARTER-SIZED...AND TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS. LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING WILL BE LIKELY WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. THE PRIMARY TIME FRAME FOR POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE THROUGH 8 PM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO MONDAY...WITH A MUCH LOWER THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER. AFTER A PERIOD OF QUIET WEATHER TUESDAY...THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL RETURN WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY...PARTICULARLY THROUGH 8 PM. ILZ042>057-061-081100- CASS-CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-COLES-DE WITT-DOUGLAS-EDGAR-LOGAN-MACON- MENARD-MORGAN-MOULTRIE-PIATT-SANGAMON-SCOTT-SHELBY-VERMILION- 347 PM CDT SUN JUN 7 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG AN ADVANCING COLD FRONT LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...PRODUCING DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 60 MPH...HAIL UP TO QUARTER-SIZED...AND TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS. LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING WILL BE LIKELY WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. THE PRIMARY TIME FRAME FOR POTENTIAL SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE BETWEEN 4 PM AND 10 PM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO MONDAY...WITH A MUCH LOWER THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER. AFTER A PERIOD OF QUIET WEATHER TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL RETURN FOR THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY...PARTICULARLY BETWEEN 4 PM AND 10 PM ILZ062-063-066>068-071>073-081100- CLARK-CLAY-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-RICHLAND- 347 PM CDT SUN JUN 7 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ALONG AN ADVANCING COLD FRONT THIS EVENING. WHILE THE GREATEST CHANCE FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL REMAIN NORTH OF THE I-70 CORRIDOR...A FEW STRONG STORMS WITH GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL...AND TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS WILL BE POSSIBLE. THE PRIMARY TIME FRAME FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE BETWEEN 6 PM AND MIDNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE INTO MONDAY...WITH A MUCH LOWER THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER. AFTER A PERIOD OF QUIET WEATHER TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...THUNDERSTORM CHANCES WILL RETURN FOR THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY...PARTICULARLY BETWEEN 6 PM AND MIDNIGHT. BARNES
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1116 AM CDT SUN JUN 07 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1030 AM HEAVY RAIN 2 N NORMAL 40.55N 89.00W
06/07/2015 M1.50 INCH MCLEAN IL MESONET
&&
25The Lincoln radar (KILX), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:02 UTC.
32 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 12 flash flood, 3 tornado, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous trees and tree limbs were blown down.
Several trees up to two feet in diameter were blown into power lines one half mile north of US 150 on Knoxville Avenue.
A tree was blown down near Lake and University.
A tree was blown onto a power line in Benson.
A tree was blown onto a garage 1 mile south of Benson.
Several trees were damaged in Eureka.
Numerous tree limbs were blown down in Metamora.
A ten to eleven-inch diameter tree was snapped off.
Several trees were blown down in Chenoa.
Numerous large tree limbs were blown down.
Several large tree limbs were blown down.
Several trees were snapped and uprooted in Pekin.
A 30x50 farm building was destroyed by strong thunderstorm winds.
Several trees were blown down on Denmark Road near Lake Vermilion on the north side of Danville.
Several 8-inch diameter sycamore branches were blown down.
A large tree was blown onto a garage and the roof of a house in Pekin.
Numerous tree limbs were blown down onto highway 10 about 1 mile east of Hallsville.
A power pole was blown down at Green Valley Road south of Tabor Road.
A large tree was blown down across Highway 10 about 1 mile west of Clinton.
Numerous trees were blown down in Danville causing power outages across the city.
A tornado briefly touched down 8 miles east of Petersburg at 8:22 PM CDT. The tornado knocked down several trees and damaged an old barn. An anemometer at the residence where the damage occurred measured a peak wind of 77 mph. The tornado quickly dissipated by 8:23 PM CDT.
A large tree was blown down on the Old Postville Courthouse property bordering 5th Street.
Thunderstorms with rainfall rates of 1.50 to 2.00 per hour for nearly two hours produced a total of 2.50 to 5.00 of rain in northern and central Fulton County. Flash flooding rapidly developed, which made many roads impassable. U.S. Highways 24 and 136 were impassable, as were State Highways 78 and 95. Most secondary roads in rural areas were also inundated.
Thunderstorms with rainfall rates of 1.50 to 2.00 per hour for nearly two hours produced a total of 2.50 to 5.00 of rain in extreme southern Knox County. Flash flooding rapidly developed, which made many roads impassable. State Highways 97 and 8, as well as most secondary roads in rural areas, were inundated.
Thunderstorms produced 2.50 to 5.00 of rainfall in a large part of Peoria County, including the city of Peoria, between 1800 and 2000 local standard time. Flash flooding rapidly developed, which made many streets impassable on the south side of Peoria. U.S. Highway 24 near the Fulton/Peoria County line to Bartonville was also impassable. Most secondary roads in rural areas were also inundated from Bartonville to Smithville and Kickapoo to Mossville.
Thunderstorms produced 5.00 to 8.00 of rainfall in northern and eastern Mason County, mainly between 1800 and 2000 local standard time. Flash flooding rapidly developed, which made nearly every rural road in northern and eastern Mason County impassable. Parts of U.S. Highway 136 near the Logan County line were closed due to high water.
Thunderstorms produced 5.00 to 8.00 of rainfall in northern Logan County during the evening hours. Flash flooding rapidly developed, which made many streets impassable in San Jose, Hartsburg and Atlanta. The biggest impacts were near the Logan/Tazewell County line where the water was three to four feet deep. A section of Canadian National Railroad tracks near U.S. Highway 136 and Emden were washed out. At least two water rescues had to be made for stranded motorists on roads near the county line. No injuries were reported.
A few large tree branches were blown down in Georgetown.
Several tree limbs were blown onto power lines at Rita Road and Hazel Lane.
Thunderstorms produced 2.50 to 5.00 of rainfall in western Woodford County between 1800 and 2000 local standard time. Flash flooding rapidly developed which made secondary roads from Low Point to Benson and near Bay View Gardens impassable. Parts of Illinois State Highway 26 were also flooded.
Thunderstorms produced 5.00 to 8.00 of rainfall in a large part of Tazewell County during the evening hours. Flash flooding rapidly developed, which made many streets impassable in Pekin and parts of East Peoria, where the water was a foot deep in some spots. The biggest impacts were in the southern part of the county near the Logan/Tazewell County line where the water was three to four feet deep. At least two water rescues had to be made for stranded motorists. No injuries were reported.
Thunderstorms produced 3.00 to 6.00 of rainfall in central and southern McLean County during the evening hours. Flash flooding rapidly developed, which made many streets impassable in Bloomington, Normal, Danvers and Heyworth. Much of U.S. Highway 136 from the Logan County line to Heyworth was also impassable. Many rural roads were flooded from Stanford to the Logan County line, and Saybrook through Bellflower to Arrowsmith.
The biggest impacts were in the southern part of the county near the Logan/Tazewell County line where the water was three to four feet deep. At least two water rescues had to be made for stranded motorists. No injuries were reported.
A tornado touched down in a field 4.4 miles east of Monticello in Piatt County at 9:03 PM CDT. It then tracked eastward through open farmland before crossing into Champaign County 5.9 miles east of Monticello at 9:05 PM CDT. Minor crop damage was reported.
This tornado crossed from Piatt County into Champaign County 5.5 miles southwest of Seymour at 9:05 PM CDT. It then tracked eastward and hit a farmstead, destroying a barn and a machine shed. Several large trees were also knocked down or damaged at the residence. The tornado then dissipated 5.1 miles south of Seymour at 9:07 PM CDT.
A tree was blown onto a car and several large branches were knocked down near Westville High School on Hickman St.
Two outbuildings were destroyed and two trees were blown down at 1052 County Road 100 East southwest of Seymour.
Severe wind damage occurred to a building in the 1400 block of North Prospect Avenue in Champaign.
Severe wind damage occurred to a building in the 1500 block of West Kenyon Road in Urbana.
Thunderstorms with rainfall rates of 1.00 to 1.50 per hour for nearly three hours produced a total of 4.00 to 7.00 of rain in northern and east central Champaign County. Many roads were impassable in rural areas north of U.S. Highway 136 and along and north of I-74 from Urbana to Ogden.
Thunderstorms with rainfall rates of 1.50 to 2.00 per hour for nearly three hours produced a total of 4.00 to 8.00 of rain in northern and central Vermilion County. Many streets were impassable in the city of Danville. Significant road flooding was reported on most of U.S. Highways 136, 150 and Interstate 74 , as well as State Highway 1 from Bismarck to Westville.
Several trees and power lines were blown down in Ogden.
Numerous tree branches and power lines were blown down in Newman.
Numerous tree branches and power lines were blown down in Camargo.
Numerous power lines were blown down and a few trees were snapped in half.
A tree and power lines were blown onto a car on Whittier Street in Georgetown.
Thunderstorms produced 4.00 to 7.00 of rainfall in a large part of Effingham County, mainly between 2300 and 0200 local standard time. Flash flooding rapidly developed, which made many streets impassable in Effingham. Rural roads in the southwest corner and southeast parts of the county were impassable. Illinois State Highway 37 southwest of Watson was closed. A county bridge 4 miles southwest of Shumway was washed out when the Blue Creek flooded out of its banks.
Thunderstorms produced 3.00 to 5.00 of rainfall in a large part of Clay County, mainly between 0000 and 0300 local standard time. Flash flooding rapidly developed, which made many rural roads impassable from Iola to Louisville. U.S. Highway 45 near Louisville was also flooded, and was closed after floodwaters swept a car off the highway. The driver was rescued and no injuries were reported.
Thunderstorms produced 4.00 to 7.00 of rainfall in a large part of Effingham County, mainly between 2300 and 0200 local standard time. Flash flooding rapidly developed, which made many streets impassable in Effingham. Rural roads in the southwest corner and southeast parts of the county were impassable. Illinois State Highway 37 southwest of Watson was closed. A county bridge 4 miles southwest of Shumway was washed out when the Blue Creek flooded out of its banks. Additional rainfall during the early morning and the impacts of the overnight flooding caused roads to remain closed and creeks to stay in flood. The flooding subsided by the late evening of June 8th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 2015Warnings in Illinois, June 2015
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: 578772, 578778, 578773, 578757, 578776, 578780, 578777, 578774, 578775, 578758, 578779, 578759, 578781, 578782, 578784, 578806, 578783, 578785, 578807, 578761, 578760, 578787, 578764, 578788, 578789, 578786, 578765, 578696, 578794, 578762, 591330, 591332, 591335, 591348, 591350, 578790, 578811, 591337, 591346, 591354, and more.