Thunderstorms rapidly developed over northern Iowa during the afternoon and organized into a powerful line of wind producing storms that surged through the Quad Cities and into northern and central Illinois through the evening hours. These storms brought widespread damaging winds up to 100 mph for many locations, extending across eastern Iowa, much of Illinois, and into Indiana.
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 DVN wrote it up.
Thunderstorms rapidly developed over northern Iowa during the afternoon and organized into a powerful line of wind producing storms that surged through the Quad Cities and into northern and central Illinois through the evening hours. These storms brought widespread damaging winds up to 100 mph for many locations, extending across eastern Iowa, much of Illinois, and into Indiana. The Storm Prediction Center has classified this event as a Derecho which by definition is a swath of wind damage at least 400 miles long and at least 60 miles wide including several well-separated significant wind gusts over 75 mph. Corridors of significant wind damage occurred along Highway 20. 10 tornadoes also occurred with these storms in the NWS Quad Cities service area.
In addition to the wind, very heavy rainfall fell in a short amount of time with many locations seeing over an inch. The highest totals fell in McDonough and Warren counties in Illinois where amounts between 2 and 3 inches fell.
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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 15, 5:19 PM CST, 11 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL Issued by National Weather Service Paducah KY 619 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - A Heat Advisory is in effect area-wide today until 8 PM for peak heat indices between 100 to 100 degrees. - Today's severe thunderstorm outlook has been upgraded to a Moderate Risk (level 4 of 5) for the northern two-thirds of the forecast area. The Enhanced Risk (level 3 of 5) remains to the south. Significant damaging winds are the primary hazard; several tornadoes are also possible. - A Flood Watch as been issued for counties east and northeast of the Quad Cities. Recent heavy rainfall has saturated the ground, making this area more susceptible to flash flooding. Rainfall rates could peak between 2 - 2.5" per hour. - Moderate to major river flooding continues on the Mississippi River with most sites crested. The Rock River is now expected to see flooding due to the heavy rains upstream in the past 24 hours. && .SHORT TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... Issued at 256 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024 There is a Moderate Risk (level 4 of 5) for severe weather this afternoon into tonight for much of the outlook area, with an Enhanced Risk (level 3 of 5) across the south. Please monitor the weather closely and heed any warnings issued for your location! SPC mesoanalysis early this afternoon showed a mid-level vorticity max across E South Dakota/SW Minnesota/NW Iowa, positioned to the south of a 80 kt 300mb jet over northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. A zone of low-level moisture convergence was noted (where surface dewpoints were between 75 to 80 degrees!), stretching from central Iowa to the Quad Cities and into central Illinois. As large-scale ascent associated with the mid-level impulse overspreads the area late this afternoon/evening, this quasi- stationary zone of low- level convergence may aid in focusing the convective initiation. With extreme instability in place (3500 - 4500 J/kg MLCAPE), anticipate explosive convective development and rapid upscale growth into one, or possible a few, bowing line segments. Forward-propagating Corfidi vectors and W to SE sloping theta-e and 1000-500mb thickness contours should help in eventually guiding the MCS to the ESE or SE later into the evening. CAMs have been consistent on showing significant severe wind gusts in the strongest bowing segments and the HREF max wind gust output shows several corridors with values of 60-70+ kts. Greatest uncertainty is on the exact placement/track of the dominant surging MCS, with a northern scenario focused across the NE forecast area (NW Illinois) and another camp further south which would bring significant winds to a larger portion of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois. To reiterate, today is a favorable setup for a higher end wind event (scattered 75+ mph gusts) due to a very unstable air mass, sufficient deep layer shear, steep mid-level lapse rates near 8 C/km, and theta-e index values near 35. A few tornadoes are possible in association with any surging storm segments as 0-3 km shear of 30+ kts supports development of mesovortices. There is also potential for very heavy rainfall with PWATs near 2". There could be a zone of training convection that leads to heavy rainfall totals of 2-4"+. WPC has a Slight Risk for flash flooding across the outlook area. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... Issued at 256 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024 Cooler and less humid air will move into the region behind a cold front by Tuesday and last through the end of the week. Overnight lows in the 50s are forecast on several nights, giving our air conditioning a bit of a break. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z TUESDAY/... Issued at 619 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024 Convection will pose a significant hazard to operations through the next few hours. Measured wind gusts at ground level of 70-80 kts have been reported in the last hour. This system will likely approach the KMLI-KDVN-KCLI corridor at similiar intensity and may produce winds over 50 kt as far south as KBRL. Ceilings and visibility will drop to near IFR and heavy thunderstorms and gusty winds may persist for around an hour before moving to the southeast. Areas of heavy rain may aid in fog formation in the early morning hours Tuesday with drier west winds and VFR conditions forecast for the daytime hours Tuesday. && .DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IA...None. IL...None. MO...None. && SHORT TERM...Uttech LONG TERM...Ervin/Uttech AVIATION...JGG
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL 345 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-162045- Buchanan-Delaware-Dubuque-Benton-Linn-Jones-Jackson-Iowa-Johnson- Cedar-Clinton-Muscatine-Scott-Keokuk-Washington-Louisa-Jefferson- Henry IA-Des Moines-Van Buren-Lee-Jo Daviess-Stephenson-Carroll- Whiteside-Rock Island-Henry IL-Bureau-Putnam-Mercer-Henderson- Warren-Hancock-McDonough-Scotland-Clark- 345 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of north central Illinois...northwest Illinois...west central Illinois...east central Iowa...northeast Iowa...southeast Iowa and northeast Missouri. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT The Storm Prediction Center has a Moderate risk, level 4 of 5, for this afternoon and evening for much of eastern Iowa and northwest Illinois. Very damaging winds to 85 mph, very large hail and a few tornadoes are likely. Torrential rain producing flash flooding is also possible. There is a flash flood watch for much of northwest Illinois through tonight. There is an Enhanced risk, level 3 of 5, for southeast Iowa, northeast Missouri, and western Illinois. Supercell thunderstorms with tornadoes and very large hail would initially be most likely in areas north of Interstate 80 this afternoon and early evening, followed by a damaging wind producing line of storms, moving from west to east towards early evening. Late in the evening, storms will become widespread and sink southward, and heavy rain will become the primary threat. Hot and humid conditions will be over the area through early this evening, with heat index readings topping between 100 and 110 degrees. A Heat Advisory is in effect through 8 PM. Area rivers are experiencing flooding. Please see the latest Flood Statements and Flood Warnings for details. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will be needed through tonight. GENERAL STORM MOTION OF THE DAY: Toward the east around 30 mph this afternoon then southeast 45 to 60 mph this evening. Haase
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
614 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0557 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 W Hiawatha 42.04N 91.71W
07/15/2024 Linn IA Trained Spotter
tree branches down.
&&Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
622 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0617 PM Tstm Wnd Gst Dubuque Regional Arpt 42.40N 90.70W
07/15/2024 M66 MPH Dubuque IA ASOS
ASOS station KDBQ Dubuque Arpt.
&&
GROSSPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
623 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0619 PM Flash Flood 2 NE Cedar Rapids 41.99N 91.65W
07/15/2024 Linn IA Trained Spotter
Water over 1st Ave. Trucks having trouble
navigating road.
&&Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
626 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0556 PM Tstm Wnd Gst Cedar Rapids Municipali 41.88N 91.72W
07/15/2024 M55 MPH Linn IA ASOS
ASOS.
&&Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
629 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0614 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 SW Fairview 42.07N 91.34W
07/15/2024 M76 MPH Jones IA Public
&&
GROSSPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
630 PM CDT Mon Jul 15 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0602 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 W Paralta 42.05N 91.49W
07/15/2024 M67 MPH Linn IA Public
&&
GROSSThe Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 91 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:29 UTC.
32 thunderstorm wind, 13 tornado, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A pubic report with estimated 80 MPH winds with damage to a a ell built slide at this location.
A tornado developed just northeast of Hanover in Jo Daviess County, and tracked to the southeast around 50 mph along an intermittent path. The tornado caused significant roof damage to a home east of Hanover that was rated EF-1. The tornado then moved into Carroll County near S. Breyer Road, around 18:02 CST. The tornado caused EF-1 damage around Lake Carroll, including damage to a garage, gazebo, and boat dock, and numerous trees downed. The tornado then downed trees in Shannon before lifting around 18:16 CST. The tornado was rated EF-1 with maximum winds around 100 mph, in both Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties.
A public report estimating 60 MPH winds at the leading edge of the line of storms with low visibility.
A public report of large tree branches down and garden corn flattened.
A tornado developed just east of Woodbine in Jo Daviess County, and moved southeast along an intermittent 8 mile path. The tornado downed numerous trees along S. Massbach Road. The tornado was rated EF-1 with maximum winds around 100 mph and was 50 yards wide.
A tornado developed northwest of Stockton in Jo Daviess County, and moved E/SE along an intermittent 15 mile path, before lifting near Lena in Stephenson County. In Jo Daviess County, the tornado snapped a wooden power pole near the base, snapped tree trunks, and impacted a farmstead, with damage to an outbuilding and grain elevator supports. The most significant damage in Jo Daviess County was rated EF-2, with maximum winds around 115 mph. The tornado crossed into Stephenson County about a third of a mile south of W. Gerbick Road, around 18:01 CST. A public photo showed the tornado near Lena before it dissipated around 18:09 CST. There was no observable damage in Stephenson County.
The COOP Observer reported a measured 84 MPH gust on a personal home weather station.
The COOP observed report tat several trees were down of various diameter. One was a foot in diameter.
A public report of a tree uprooted by thunderstorm winds.
A tornado developed northwest of Stockton in Jo Daviess County, and moved E/SE along an intermittent 15 mile path, before lifting near Lena in Stephenson County. In Jo Daviess County, the tornado snapped a wooden power pole near the base, snapped tree trunks, and impacted a farmstead, with damage to an outbuilding and grain elevator supports. The most significant damage in Jo Daviess County was rated EF-2, with maximum winds around 115 mph. The tornado crossed into Stephenson County about a third of a mile south of W. Gerbick Road, around 18:01 CST. A public photo showed the tornado near Lena before it dissipated around 18:09 CST. There was no observable damage in Stephenson County.
A tornado developed just northeast of Hanover in Jo Daviess County, and tracked to the southeast around 50 mph along an intermittent path. The tornado caused significant roof damage to a home east of Hanover that was rated EF-1. The tornado then moved into Carroll County near S. Breyer Road, around 18:02 CST. The tornado caused EF-1 damage around Lake Carroll, including damage to a garage, gazebo, and boat dock, and numerous trees downed. The tornado then downed trees in Shannon before lifting around 18:16 CST. The tornado was rated EF-1 with maximum winds around 100 mph, in both Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties.
A tornado was captured on video near the shore of the Mississippi River in Muscatine County Iowa. The tornado crossed the Mississippi River and moved onshore in Rock Island County Illinois, just west of the Loud Thunder Forest Preserve, where it uprooted trees and downed large branches. No rating is assigned for the path of the tornado over the Mississippi River. Once onshore, the tornado was rated EF-0 with maximum winds around 75 mph.
A public photo received via social media showed a large tree limb down that nearly fell on a garage.
An NWS Storm Survey found a tornado touched down northwest of Taylor Ridge in Rock Island County. The tornado damaged trees, dented two large grain bins, and damaged power poles. The tornado then moved into Mercer County around 18:27 CST, about a third of a mile west of US Route 67 on 190th Ave W. In Mercer County, the tornado damaged trees, power poles, and small farm outbuildings. The tornado then moved into Henry County around 18:36 CST, about 0.4 miles south of Camp Creek Road. The tornado continued to damage trees, power poles, and small farm outbuildings, before crossing Interstate 74 and lifting south of Andover. In all three counties (Rock Island, Mercer, Henry) the tornado was rated an EF-1 with maximum winds around 100 mph.
A public report of a a large section of a tree snapped off and fell on a car.
A public report via social media of a large tree and powerlines downed by thunderstorm winds.
A public report of a tree down. Time of the event was estimated using radar.
A public report of a measured 93 MPH wind gust.
A trained spotter video confirmed a short-lived tornado southwest of Dakota, or northeast of Freeport. There was no observed damage to assign a rating.
A trained spotter reported several power outages, tree limbs down, and gutters blown off the house. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
An NWS Storm Survey found a tornado touched down northwest of Taylor Ridge in Rock Island County. The tornado damaged trees, dented two large grain bins, and damaged power poles. The tornado then moved into Mercer County around 18:27 CST, about a third of a mile west of US Route 67 on 190th Ave W. In Mercer County, the tornado damaged trees, power poles, and small farm outbuildings. The tornado then moved into Henry County around 18:36 CST, about 0.4 miles south of Camp Creek Road. The tornado continued to damage trees, power poles, and small farm outbuildings, before crossing Interstate 74 and lifting south of Andover. In all three counties (Rock Island, Mercer, Henry) the tornado was rated an EF-1 with maximum winds around 100 mph.
Nearly continuous damage was surveyed consistent with a tornado producing 85-100 mph winds. In Davenport, Iowa, damage occurred to dozens of large trees, including several large healthy snapped trees. Some trees fell on homes and at least one on a car. A large section of an apartment roof was also torn off. Damage in Scott County Iowa was rated EF1 with maximum winds around 100 mph. The tornado crossed the Mississippi River and moved into Rock Island County Illinois along River Drive in East Moline, around 18:28 CST. The tornado snapped some tree trunks before dissipating around 18:32 CST. The tornado was also rated EF-1 in Rock Island County, with maximum winds around 90 mph.
A trained spotter reported an estimated 60 MPH wind gust.
The ASOS had the Moline-Quad Cities Airport measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 58 knots.
A trained spotter reported larges trees that were either split by the wind or had large branches downed. Large metal outbuilding destroyed.
A public report of a large tree that was snapped, with multiple large branches downed by the winds.
A public report of a large section of a tree downed at 27th Ave and Archer.
A public report of multiple downed trees. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
A public report of a large branches downed along with power poles and a broken flag pole.
A measured thunderstorm wind gust of 63 knots by the RQCI4 in the Quad Cities.
An NWS Storm Survey found a tornado touched down northwest of Taylor Ridge in Rock Island County. The tornado damaged trees, dented two large grain bins, and damaged power poles. The tornado then moved into Mercer County around 18:27 CST, about a third of a mile west of US Route 67 on 190th Ave W. In Mercer County, the tornado damaged trees, power poles, and small farm outbuildings. The tornado then moved into Henry County around 18:36 CST, about 0.4 miles south of Camp Creek Road. The tornado continued to damage trees, power poles, and small farm outbuildings, before crossing Interstate 74 and lifting south of Andover. In all three counties (Rock Island, Mercer, Henry) the tornado was rated an EF-1 with maximum winds around 100 mph.
A public report of large branches downed by thunderstorm winds, along with a car port that blown into the side of the house.
A trained spotter reported a power pole down on Highway 94.
The Emergency Manager reported lots of damage in town. They estimated the winds to be between 80 to 100 MPH.
The Emergency Manager reported a tree down across Moline Road.
A trained spotter reported a 60 MPH wind gust.
A public report of widespread tree damage throughout Galva. There are 4 to 5 power poles down plus electrical service pulled from houses. US 34 is still blocked due to power lines too low for traffic. There are 3 known locations with tree limbs falling on houses and one has a broken window and roof damage.
The Emergency Manager reported trees and power lines down.
An NWS Storm Survey found that an EF-1 tornado with peak winds of 100 MPH and was 200 yards wide caused extensive tree damage occurred through the city of Kewanee. Many homesteads had minor roof damage. A couple of the homes had large sections of the roofs removed.
An NWS Storm Survey found a second tornado in Kewanee. The tornado was 50 yards wide with peak winds of 105 MPH, which caused damage on the north side of Kewanee. Damage was noted to several large trees including large ones snapped in a park and golf course. There was also some roof damage to a couple of businesses and a storage building.
A trained spotter reported that a tree was down and blocking Illinois 18 just east of the Illinois River bridge. The time of the event was estimated using radar.
The Emergency Manager reported that a large tree blown down on a car.
The Emergency Manager reported large tree down on a portion of a house damaging the roof and gutters.
The Emergency Manager reported damage to a grain bin and trees.
The Fire Department reported a thunderstorm wind gusts of 64 MPH as the gust front hit.
Law Enforcement reported water over Illinois Route 41 due to flash flooding. The road is closed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 2024Warnings in Illinois, July 2024
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: 1204590, 1204538, 1204577, 1204570, 1204515, 1204513, 1204578, 1204557, 1204573, 1204546, 1204530, 1204456, 1204571, 1204484, 1204572, 1204576, 1204568, 1204582, 1204494, 1204586, 1204486, 1204472, 1204579, 1204580, 1204597, 1204600, 1204592, 1204591, 1204603, 1204594, 1204489, 1204601, 1204595, 1204583, 1204596, 1204585, 1204589, 1204584, 1204491, 1204492, and more.