A cold front triggered scattered strong thunderstorms across central Illinois during the evening of May 13th. A couple cells produced gusty winds and minor damage.
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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 cold front triggered scattered strong thunderstorms across central Illinois during the evening of May 13th. A couple cells produced gusty winds and minor damage.
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 May 13, 5:03 PM CST, 32 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lincoln IL 603 PM CDT FRI MAY 13 2016 .SHORT TERM...(Tonight) ISSUED AT 246 PM CDT Fri May 13 2016 Most of the Midwest under west/northwesterly flow aloft from a broad closed low btwn the Great Lakes and Hudson Bay this afternoon. Weak surface low dragging a cold front through the region this afternoon and this evening, with associated showers and thunderstorms expected through the overnight. Lacking a lot of support aloft, the thunderstorms will have a significant diurnal element to gathering strength and sustaining themselves. So far, showers and thunderstorms to the northwest are rather unimpressive. Airmass over Central Illinois is more stable, for now. Very little moisture in the column this morning, but is also countered by sunny skies and weakly warming temperatures at the surface today. A slight risk is painted over much of Central Illinois by SPC, and a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect in the far west in anticipation of the showers and thunderstorms. With pretty cold air aloft, hail and wind are the bigger threats. After the sun sets, the severe threat should diminish quickly, even if the thunderstorms are expected to continue through the evening until the cold front clears the region. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Friday) ISSUED AT 246 PM CDT Fri May 13 2016 Lobe of colder air currently dropping into northern Wisconsin with the shortwave rotating around the upper low in Ontario. Coldest air should stay closer to the Great Lakes, but 850 mb temperatures progged down to about -5C by Saturday morning as far south as here. Have lowered high temperatures a tad for Saturday, mainly mid 50s, and lows Saturday night still look to be in the mid-upper 30s. Main question with the frost potential will be with a potential uptick in clouds late in the night across the northern CWA, associated with a weak, fast-moving wave. The GFS and Canadian models are quickest with this feature, while the NAM and ECMWF hold off until a bit later Sunday morning. With the uncertainty, will leave out any mention for now and re-evaluate with the next forecast package. Longer range pattern has been trending toward more dry periods in the middle to late week time frame, as a cutoff upper low over the southwest U.S. is slower to phase with the northern stream. The ECMWF is most aggressive with finally kicking this system eastward late in the week, while the GFS brings the remnants into the southern Plains. With the associated frontal boundary being pushed even further south than recent runs, thunder potential is fairly low. Have removed most mention of it by Monday night, and went dry by Wednesday morning. The moisture return later in the week is quite uncertain due to the large model variations, and so have only mentioned slight chance PoP's next Friday. Temperatures will be slowly edging upward each day next week, and should get back close to normal toward Thursday. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Saturday evening) Issued at 600 PM CDT Fri May 13 2016 The band of showers and embedded thunder will continue to march quickly east and southeast this evening as a cold front sweeps across the forecast area. Along and just behind the front we can look for a period of MVFR cigs which should start to clear the TAF sites starting in PIA around 06z and by 09z over in CMI. Surface winds ahead of the cold front will remain out of the south to southwest at 10 to 15 kts with a few higher gusts around the showers, and then as the cold front sweeps across the area from 01z-07z, look for winds to shift into the west and northwest at 12 to 17 kts with a few gusts up to 30 kts at times an hour or two after FROPA, before the gusts settle down later tonight. Surface winds on Saturday will be from the northwest at 12 to 17 kts with afternoon gusts around 23 kts at times. Forecast soundings also suggest an increase in cumulus clouds by late morning into the afternoon hours with cig bases in the 4000-5000 foot level. && .ILX Watches/Warnings/Advisories... NONE. && SHORT TERM...HJS LONG TERM...Geelhart AVIATION...Smith
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 332 PM CDT FRI MAY 13 2016 ILZ027-029-036-037-040-041-047>051-142045- CASS-FULTON-KNOX-MASON-MENARD-MORGAN-PEORIA-SANGAMON-SCHUYLER- SCOTT-TAZEWELL- 332 PM CDT FRI MAY 13 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A SURFACE LOW AND COLD FRONT WILL TRIGGER STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. THE PRIMARY HAZARDS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL, BUT AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY PERIODIC THUNDERSTORM CHANCES RETURN MONDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY AS A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BETWEEN 4 PM AND 9 PM. ILZ028-030-031-038-042>046-052>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-142045- CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-DE WITT- DOUGLAS-EDGAR-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-LOGAN-MACON-MARSHALL- MCLEAN-MOULTRIE-PIATT-RICHLAND-SHELBY-STARK-VERMILION-WOODFORD- 332 PM CDT FRI MAY 13 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A SURFACE LOW AND COLD FRONT WILL TRIGGER STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. THE PRIMARY HAZARDS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL, BUT AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY PERIODIC THUNDERSTORM CHANCES RETURN MONDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY AS A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED BETWEEN 4 PM AND 9 PM. HJS
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 95 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:34 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was blown across US-67 just south of Beardstown.
A 2 to 3-foot diameter tree was snapped about 3 feet above ground-level. Several large branches were blown down as well.
A large tree was blown down onto power lines, causing a widespread power outage in Clinton.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, May 2016
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: 637274, 637271, 637275.