A line of strong to severe storms moved southeast across the region. There were numerous reports of damaging winds and some large hail.
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 LSX wrote it up.
A line of strong to severe storms moved southeast across the region. There were numerous reports of damaging winds and some large hail.
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 St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 28, 5:46 PM CST, 1 hour 53 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Saint Louis MO 646 PM CDT Tue Apr 28 2020 .SHORT TERM... (Through Late Wednesday Night) Issued at 325 PM CDT Tue Apr 28 2020 Attention for early this evening will be on strong to severe thunderstorms. Initial activity, likely developing over the next hour or two, should be discrete with large hail the dominant threat. CAMs suggest a quick transition to more of a squall line, which makes conceptual sense given strong forcing for ascent throughout the troposphere. Damaging straight-line winds will be the focus thereafter. Mesovortices along the line appear unlikely given forecast 0-3km shear below 30 knots. Some weakening of the line is likely late this evening as it approaches southeast Missouri and southwest Illinois due to a combination of weakening instability and the propensity for outflow to accelerate ahead of the convection. Any threat for strong to severe convection should exit the CWA just before midnight. The remainder of the night should be mostly quiet, with dry weather favored along with dropping temperatures behind the cold front. Rain showers are likely across the area beneath the amplifying trough on Wednesday. These showers combined with strong/gusty northwest winds and temperatures in the 50s will make it feel like a raw, fall-like day. Trimmed Wednesday's high temperatures a few degrees, giving a nod to conditional climatology which suggests only a rise of about 2- 4 degrees from morning lows. The trough axis attendant from the closed low across the Great Lakes is expected to move far enough eastward Wednesday night. This is forecast to help lead to any rain shower threat moving out of the area as well. Decreasing cloudiness and chilly temperatures are expected for the remainder of the night. Lows are likely to drop into the mid 40s across the bi-state area. Gosselin .LONG TERM... (Thursday through Next Tuesday) Issued at 325 PM CDT Tue Apr 28 2020 (Thursday - Friday) Seasonably cool and dry conditions are forecast to continue to end the work week as GEFS/EPS depict a midlevel ridge axis translating eastward toward the mid-Mississippi Valley. Temperatures are also expected to moderate during this period, with Friday's highs in the low to mid 70s or about 5-10 degrees warmer than Thursday. (Friday Night - Next Tuesday) Moderating temperatures are likely to continue through Saturday ahead of a cold front with 850-hPa temperatures climbing to around +15C. High temperatures on Saturday are likely to exceed 80 degrees for the majority of the area. The aforementioned cold front is expected to slowly move through the area Saturday night through Sunday, likely providing a round of showers and thunderstorms. The slow-moving nature of the front combined with anomalously high precipitable water values (>1.50") and high freezing levels suggest the possibility of a heavy rainfall threat. However, details on storm track and the speed of the front certainly can change over the coming days. The cold front is expected to settle south of the CWA by late Sunday/Sunday night. In its wake, a return to a dry, cooler than normal regime should greet us on Monday. Another chance of showers is possible on Tuesday as the next system moves out of the central Plains. Gosselin && .AVIATION... (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Wednesday Evening) Issued at 634 PM CDT Tue Apr 28 2020 Line of thunderstorms is moving east/southeast having already cleared KCOU and KUIN. This broken line of storms should impact the metro terminals over the next few hours with strong west/northwest winds the main threat. Maintained gusts to 40 knots in a TEMPO group from the previous TAF. Visibilities will also be reduced to IFR thresholds in heavier downpours. After the line of storms moves through, a few hours of lighter rain and embedded thunderstorms should continue for a couple of hours before drying out completely. This dry weather along with northwest winds is favored for the remainder of the night. MVFR ceilings with stronger northwest winds and light rain showers is forecast across the area on Wednesday. SPECIFICS FOR KSTL: Line of storms is forecast to enter the area within the next hour. Gusty northwest winds around 40 knots and IFR visibilities are likely for a brief period of time. After the line passes, a couple hours of lighter rains along with embedded storms are forecast. Dry weather is then forecast overnight along with northwest winds around 10 knots. MVFR ceilings along with light rain showers and gusty northwest winds are likely during the afternoon on Wednesday. Gosselin && .LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... MO...None. IL...None. && WFO LSX
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Saint Louis MO 331 PM CDT Tue Apr 28 2020 ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027- 034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-292045- Adams IL-Audrain MO-Bond IL-Boone MO-Brown IL-Calhoun IL-Callaway MO- Clinton IL-Cole MO-Crawford MO-Fayette IL-Franklin MO-Gasconade MO- Greene IL-Iron MO-Jefferson MO-Jersey IL-Knox MO-Lewis MO-Lincoln MO- Macoupin IL-Madison IL-Madison MO-Marion IL-Marion MO-Moniteau MO- Monroe IL-Monroe MO-Montgomery IL-Montgomery MO-Osage MO-Pike IL- Pike MO-Ralls MO-Randolph IL-Reynolds MO-Saint Charles MO- Saint Clair IL-Saint Francois MO-Saint Louis City MO-Saint Louis MO- Sainte Genevieve MO-Shelby MO-Warren MO-Washington IL-Washington MO- 331 PM CDT Tue Apr 28 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of eastern and central Missouri as well as west central and southwest Illinois. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Thunderstorms are likely before midnight tonight. Some of these storms will likely be strong to severe with damaging winds and large hail the primary threats. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. There will be a chance of thunderstorms Saturday night through Sunday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will likely be needed through this evening across the area. Spotters are encouraged to report hail and any wind damage to the National Weather Service. Gosselin
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
813 PM CDT TUE APR 28 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0810 PM HAIL 2 NW SAINT LOUIS 38.66N 90.26W
04/28/2020 E0.25 INCH ST. LOUIS CITY MO AMATEUR RADIO
&&
MRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
819 PM CDT TUE APR 28 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0813 PM HAIL 2 S SAINT LOUIS 38.62N 90.25W
04/28/2020 E0.25 INCH ST. LOUIS CITY MO PUBLIC
&&
MRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
822 PM CDT TUE APR 28 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0820 PM HAIL GRANITE CITY 38.71N 90.13W
04/28/2020 E0.25 INCH MADISON IL TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
MAPLESPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
823 PM CDT TUE APR 28 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0817 PM TSTM WND GST 1 SSE SAUGET 38.58N 90.16W
04/28/2020 M52 MPH ST. CLAIR IL ASOS
&&
MRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
831 PM CDT TUE APR 28 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0830 PM TSTM WND GST 3 SE SWANSEA 38.52N 89.95W
04/28/2020 E50 MPH ST. CLAIR IL TRAINED SPOTTER
SPOTTER ESTIMATED WINDS TO BE BETWEEN 50-55
MPH WITH SOME SMALL LIMBS THAT HAVE COME
DOWN. SIZE OF THE LIMBS WAS UNKNOWN.
&&
MAPLESPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ST LOUIS MO
835 PM CDT TUE APR 28 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0820 PM HAIL SAINT LOUIS 38.64N 90.24W
04/28/2020 E0.25 INCH ST. LOUIS CITY MO NWS EMPLOYEE
&&
MRMThe St Louis radar (KLSX), 74 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:39 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm winds uprooted a large tree near Scott Air Force Base. About a mile south southeast of Mascoutah, a small tree was blown down as well as a power pole.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, April 2020
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: 886925.