Scattered severe thunderstorms developed along a warm front extending across central Illinois during the late afternoon and evening of September 9th. A Mesoscale Convective Vortex (MCV) associated with a complex of thunderstorms that had developed the previous night across Kansas interacted with the boundary to greatly enhance low-level wind shear across east-central Illinois.
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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.
Scattered severe thunderstorms developed along a warm front extending across central Illinois during the late afternoon and evening of September 9th. A Mesoscale Convective Vortex (MCV) associated with a complex of thunderstorms that had developed the previous night across Kansas interacted with the boundary to greatly enhance low-level wind shear across east-central Illinois. As new thunderstorm cells developed and moved into this area of stronger shear, many of them began to rotate. Four tornadoes touched down across portions of Champaign, Vermilion, and Clark counties between 6:30pm CDT and 7:15pm CDT, including an EF-2 tornado that produced considerable damage across southern Champaign County.
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 Sep 9, 1:56 PM CST, 3 hours 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lincoln IL 256 PM CDT FRI SEP 9 2016 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Saturday) ISSUED AT 253 PM CDT Fri Sep 9 2016 Latest radar mosaic shows developing areas of showers with pockets of moderate to heavy rain over the IL river valley nw of I-55. SPC day1 update continues a slight risk of severe storms late this afternoon and evening south of I-72, with 5% risk of damaging winds and tornadic supercells. Airmass is getting more unstable over southeast CWA with CAPES up to 1500-2500 J/KG at mid afternoon south of I-70. A few stronger thunderstorms developing around St Louis ahead of MCV over central MO and tracking northeast. Expect this convection to continue to expand as it tracks northeast into central and southeast IL late this afternoon and evening with areas south of I-72 having the slight risk of severe and heaviest rainfall where precipitable water values are 1.5-2.2 inches. Highest chances of convection to shift into eastern IL by early evening, and then expect a lull in convection for a time after dark until cold front in central IA increases chances of showers/thunderstorms again overnight as it moves into central IL late tonight. The cold front to sweep through southeast/eastcentral IL Saturday morning where chances of showers and a few thunderstorms lingers, then drier, cooler and breezy conditions expected behind the front by Saturday afternoon. Held off with a flash flood watch as most of our CWA did not receive much rainfall so far today, plus heaviest rainfall will occur over southern half of CWA which did not see as much rainfall Wednesday night and Thurday. High resolution models have trended lower with qpf tonight and shifted heavier qpf into areas from I-72 south where 0.75-1 inch with locally heavier amounts. Between a quarter and half inch of rain expected over northern CWA through tonight. Lows overnight to range from the low to mid 60s over the IL river valley, to the muggy lower 70s in southeast IL. Highs Saturday to mostly be in the mid 70s, with upper 70s over southeast IL with areas near the Wabash river near 80F. && .LONG TERM...(Saturday night through Friday) ISSUED AT 253 PM CDT Fri Sep 9 2016 Generally quiet weather and cooler than normal conditions are expected across central and southeast Illinois through the longer range of the forecast. Surface high pressure and neutral upper flow will dominate into Monday night. Then, a northern stream wave, with the main energy tracking east across Canada, will push a cold front into the area for Tuesday into Wednesday. This frontal passage will be the main threat for organized rainfall over the next several days. However, given the position of the main wave and the lack of significant moisture return ahead of the front, it is not likely to be a major rain maker. The warmest temperatures of the week should be Tuesday ahead of the front, with the remainder of the period seeing daytime highs of 80 degrees or below. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Saturday afternoon) Issued at 1258 PM CDT Fri Sep 9 2016 An MCV over central MO will lift ENE into central IL late this afternoon and exit into IN early this evening. Expect more numerous showers and isolated thunderstorms to develop with this feature during the afternoon as it tracks into central IL and then diminish from the WSW between 23Z-02Z. MVFR ceilings and vsbys will occur at times with this convection with lowest ceilings at BMI which currently is near 1k ft. HRRR and RAP models show a lull in convection after sunset this evening before a cold front over central IA pushes southeast across central IL later tonight and early Sat morning. More convection possible along and ahead of this front overnight into early saturday along with IFR to MVFR ceilings and vsbys. Then breezy WSW winds take shape behind the cold front during Saturday morning with gusts of 15-20 kts. && .ILX Watches/Warnings/Advisories... NONE. && SHORT TERM...07 LONG TERM...Bak AVIATION...07
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL 300 PM CDT FRI SEP 9 2016 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>043-047>051-101100- CASS-DE WITT-FULTON-KNOX-LOGAN-MARSHALL-MASON-MCLEAN-MENARD- MORGAN-PEORIA-SANGAMON-SCHUYLER-SCOTT-STARK-TAZEWELL-WOODFORD- 300 PM CDT FRI SEP 9 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THERE IS A MARGINAL RISK OF SEVERE STORMS FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING...WITH THE PRIMARY THREAT BEING FROM STRONG WINDS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO EXPECTED... WHICH MAY RESULT IN AREAS OF FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE BACK INTO THE AREA FOR TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING. SPOTTERS ARE ALSO ENCOURAGED TO REPORT RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF 1 INCH OR ANY FLOODING IF OBSERVED TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. ILZ044>046-052>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-101100- CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-DOUGLAS- EDGAR-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-MACON-MOULTRIE-PIATT-RICHLAND- SHELBY-VERMILION- 300 PM CDT FRI SEP 9 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND INTO TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FROM LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING SOUTH OF I-72...WITH THE PRIMARY THREAT BEING FROM STRONG WINDS AND POSSIBLE TORNADOES. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL IS ALSO EXPECTED... WHICH MAY RESULT IN AREAS OF FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE BACK INTO THE AREA FOR TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING ESPECIALLY SOUTH OF I-72. SPOTTERS ARE ALSO ENCOURAGED TO REPORT RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF 1 INCH OR ANY FLOODING IF OBSERVED TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. 07
The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 129 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:12 UTC.
4 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A tornado briefly touched down in a field 2 miles southwest of Catlin at 7:13pm CDT before quickly dissipating by 7:14pm CDT. Minor crop damage was reported.
A tornado touched down in a field 3.6 miles south of Sidney at 6:31pm CDT. The tornado tracked northeastward for more than two miles damaging corn and soybean crops before destroying a garage and a large shed. A car and large RV were also damaged. A barn was destroyed less than one mile away before the tornado moved into a cemetery, where it damaged several headstones and two trees. The most extensive damage occurred at a farmstead further northeast, where three outbuildings were destroyed and a house was pushed off its foundation causing it to collapse. The tornado then dissipated in a field 2.5 miles south of Homer at 6:50pm CDT.
A tornado touched down 3.6 miles southwest of Bismarck at 6:34pm CDT, then tracked northeastward for 1.6 miles mostly across open fields. The tornado damaged a few trees, took shingles off the roof of a house, and blew a camper over before dissipating 2.3 miles south-southwest of Bismarck at 6:43pm CDT.
A tornado briefly touched down in a field 1.4 miles south of Casey at 6:44pm CDT before quickly dissipating by 6:45pm CDT. Minor crop damage occurred.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 2016Warnings in Illinois, September 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: 657524, 657507, 657512, 657516.