A stationary frontal boundary draped across south-central Illinois served as the focus for clusters of thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening of May 13th. As a shower began to develop along the boundary, a brief landspout tornado was observed northwest of the town of Boody in Macon County.
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 stationary frontal boundary draped across south-central Illinois served as the focus for clusters of thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening of May 13th. As a shower began to develop along the boundary, a brief landspout tornado was observed northwest of the town of Boody in Macon County. No damage was reported.
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, 11:53 AM CST, 1 hour 44 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Lincoln IL 1253 PM CDT Sat May 13 2023 .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 1240 PM CDT Sat May 13 2023 Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible at times from this afternoon through early Sunday evening, though it will not be a complete washout. A few storms could be strong to severe this afternoon and evening mainly south of I-74. Temperatures will peak from 80 to 85 degrees during this afternoon with muggy conditions. Lows overnight will be in the low to mid 60s. Turning cooler on Sunday with highs in the 70s, and lows Sunday night in the upper 40s and lower 50s. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 234 AM CDT Sat May 13 2023 Key Points: 1) Patchy fog, some locally dense through this morning 2) Strong to severe storm chances later this afternoon/evening and once again on Sunday afternoon Surface analysis early this morning shows a stationary front positioned near/north of the I-74 corridor. Further west, an almost vertically stacked low pressure system is positioned over eastern Nebraska/western Iowa. Some shower activity is ongoing over east-central Illinois where weak moisture convergence is noted. CAMs hold onto this activity for only another hour or so before coming to an end. High resolution guidance continues to suggest pockets of patchy fog, some locally dense developing near and north of the stationary boundary. Visibilities between 2-5 miles are noted across the entire forecast area, not just near the front since winds are light and dewpoint depressions are 0-2 degrees. Visibilities to our north (La Salle and Kankakee) and south (Salem and Mt Vernon) have gone below 1 mile at times as of 2 am. If visibilities continue to drop, we may need to consider a short-fused Dense Fog Advisory for this morning. Will continue to watch observations and satellite imagery closely. Visibility should improve areawide a few hours after sunrise. The aforementioned low over the central Plains states will meager east through the weekend, weakening as it does so. The stationary front may wiggle a bit from its current position, but should generally remain positioned within the vicinity of the I-74 corridor today. Persistent WAA will allow temperatures and dewpoints to climb a few degrees higher than yesterday, with highs looking to top out in the middle 80s. As the atmosphere destabilizes by this afternoon, scattered showers and storms are expected to develop, continuing into the evening hours. Moderate instability will be in place with no capping, but shear will be weak aside from some pockets of effective shear near 30 kts west of I-55. This may support a few organized storms capable of damaging winds and large hail. A few tornadoes are also possible near and north of the stalled frontal boundary. Weak steering flow will lead to slow storm motions today with speeds only around 10-15 kts, which could result in localized heavy rainfall. Convection may linger into the late night hours, but should come to an end by midnight or so. A cold front will approach from the northwest going into Sunday, which will act to increase wind shear and push the stationary front further south. New storm development on Sunday looks to be focused near the front by the afternoon hours, which should be closer to the I-72 corridor. Better wind shear overlapped with modest instability by Sunday afternoon could support a few scattered organized storms going into the early evening hours. An expansive area of high pressure will build over the Plains states for the start of the new week, turning things cooler and drier. Later in the week a low will work through Manitoba/Ontario and push a cold front through the Midwest states by Thursday night/Friday timeframe, bringing a chance of precipitation. Temperatures look to approach 80 by the middle of the week before turning cooler thereafter. NMA && .AVIATION... (For the 18z TAFs through 18z Sunday Afternoon) Issued at 1250 PM CDT Sat May 13 2023 MVFR ceilings along I-74 at PIA, BMI and CMI (MVFR vsby at PIA) expected to lift to VFR toward mid afternoon. A developing area of convection over west central IL near the MS river valley will track NE across central IL between 21Z-03Z with MVFR conditions possibly with thunderstorms along with gusty winds especially at SPI and DEC by late this afternoon. Convection to be more widely scattered overnight as MVFR ceilings and possible vsbys return to the area and linger into Sunday morning. Easterly winds 5 to 10 kts to prevail into Sunday morning with higher winds/gusts near thunderstorms. 07 && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && WFO ILX
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lincoln IL 1045 AM CDT Sat May 13 2023 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-141545- Knox-Stark-Peoria-Marshall-Woodford-Fulton-Tazewell-McLean-Schuyler- Mason-Logan-De Witt-Piatt-Champaign-Vermilion-Cass-Menard-Scott- Morgan-Sangamon-Christian-Macon-Moultrie-Douglas-Coles-Edgar-Shelby- Cumberland-Clark-Effingham-Jasper-Crawford-Clay-Richland-Lawrence- 1045 AM CDT Sat May 13 2023 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois, east central Illinois, southeast Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Strong to severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and evening. There is a marginal to slight risk that some of the storms could become strong to severe. The main threats are isolated hail to 1 inch diameter and locally damaging wind, however a few tornadoes are possible as well, mainly west of I-55. Heavy rainfall with slow moving storms could produce localized flooding. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. Additional showers and thunderstorms are possible through Sunday. There is a marginal risk that some of the storms could become strong to severe Sunday afternoon to early evening. The main threats are isolated hail to 1 inch diameter and locally damaging wind. Heavy rainfall with slow moving storms could produce localized flooding. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed this afternoon and evening. Expected storm motion is toward the east around 20 to 25 mph. Deubelbeiss
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 47 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:37 UTC.
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A brief landspout tornado touched down in a field about 1 mile north-northwest of Boody at 2:37 PM CDT. The tornado quickly dissipated, and no damage was observed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 2023Warnings in Illinois, May 2023
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: 1093726.