An outflow boundary interacting with a very moist airmass characterized by surface dewpoints in the middle to upper 70s triggered clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms across south-central Illinois during the afternoon and evening of July 20th. mainly south of a Shelbyville to Marshall line.
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.
An outflow boundary interacting with a very moist airmass characterized by surface dewpoints in the middle to upper 70s triggered clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms across south-central Illinois during the afternoon and evening of July 20th. Scattered wind damage and flash flooding occurred...mainly south of a Shelbyville to Marshall line.
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 Jul 20, 1:39 PM CST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lincoln IL 239 PM CDT Sun Jul 20 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for locations along and south of a Rushville...to Lincoln...to Hoopeston line through Monday morning. - Hot and humid weather will prevail for much of the coming week. Heat index readings will peak well above 100 degrees Wednesday through Friday. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 239 PM CDT Sun Jul 20 2025 ...Flash Flooding Risk Tonight... MCS that rolled across north-central Illinois this morning has pushed well to the east and dissipated...but has left an outflow boundary in its wake north of the I-74 corridor. While scattered convection may fire along/near the outflow later this afternoon and evening, the primary focus for widespread convection will be further S/SW along the instability gradient currently extending from near Hannibal, Missouri to just south of Terre Haute, Indiana. 12z CAMs have all clustered their heaviest QPF near this boundary across the S/SW KILX CWA from mid-evening through the overnight hours. 12z KILX upper air sounding showed copious moisture throughout the entire depth of the atmosphere, with a daily record precipitable water value of 2.11...while 19z/1pm SPC mesoanalysis features PWs of 2.10 to 2.30 everywhere south of I-74. With a boundary in place, tropical deep-layer moisture to work with, and a 30-35kt 850mb jet adding additional moisture/instability...the stage is set for several rounds of convection across the S/SW CWA tonight. HREF mean QPF is mostly in the 1 to 2 inch range along/south of a Macomb to Paris line: however, maximum values are 3 to 5 inches (with a peak of 7 inches in Sangamon County). Think actual values will range from 1 to 3 inches across this area, with isolated higher amounts possible. Given the strong signal for heavy rainfall, have opted to maintain the Flood Watch for much of the CWA through Monday morning, but have cancelled the watch along/north of a Macomb to Bloomington line where rainfall will be much lighter. ...Heatwave for Central Illinois... With scattered showers and thunderstorms lingering across the area and light E/NE boundary layer flow, temperatures on Monday will remain near or slightly below normal for this time of year in the middle 80s. As upper ridging builds over the Mississippi River Valley, it will push the main baroclinic zone well to the north into the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes by Tuesday, which will allow a heatwave to develop across much of the Midwest. A continued easterly component to the wind will keep temperatures in the upper 80s to around 90 degrees on Tuesday: however, as winds veer to S/SW, readings will climb into the lower to middle 90s Wednesday through Friday. After the recent heavy rainfall and with crops still actively growing and contributing additional moisture to the atmosphere, surface dewpoints will hover in the middle to upper 70s...with lower 80s at times in a few spots. These high dewpoints will result in peak afternoon heat index values of 105-115 degrees across the board. Slight cooling may be noted by next weekend as a short-wave trough flattens the upper ridge and nudges a frontal boundary southward toward central Illinois: however, confidence in this scenario remains low. At this point, be prepared for an oppressively hot and humid period from Tuesday through at least Friday. Barnes && .AVIATION... (For the 18z TAFs through 18z Monday Afternoon) Issued at 1213 PM CDT Sun Jul 20 2025 Unsettled weather will be in play across central Illinois with a chance of precip through much of the period. While current activity is currently in a downward trend in both intensity and coverage, anticipate storms will redevelop late this afternoon or evening with a west-to-east oriented line or possibly two setting up across central Illinois. Storms training over the same area may lead to a prolonged period of storms on or near station, though exact timing and location details remain uncertain. Outside of the precip chances, anticipate VFR conditions this afternoon to lower to MVFR and eventually IFR overnight. Light and variable winds currently in place should eventually favor a northeast direction around 10 kt this evening and overnight, veering to an easterly direction Monday morning. Deubelbeiss && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Watch through Monday morning for ILZ040>057-061>063- 066>068-071>073. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lincoln IL 243 PM CDT Sun Jul 20 2025 ILZ027>031-036>038-211945- Knox-Stark-Peoria-Marshall-Woodford-Fulton-Tazewell-McLean- 243 PM CDT Sun Jul 20 2025 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Thunderstorms are expected to redevelop across portions of central Illinois late this afternoon and continue into tonight. Some of these storms may generate heavy rainfall. Though the axis of heaviest rain this evening into tonight is forecast to be further south, it may not take much to see additional localized flooding where heavy rain has already fallen this morning. Additionally, there is a marginal to slight risk for severe weather this evening with damaging wind gusts the primary hazard. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. Oppressive heat will build across the region starting Tuesday afternoon, and will persist through the rest of the work week. Heat indices are expected to peak in the 105 to 115 degree range on Wednesday and Thursday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed this evening. Expected storm motion is toward the east around 30 mph. ILZ040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-211945- 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- 243 PM CDT Sun Jul 20 2025 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois, east central Illinois, southeast Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Thunderstorms are expected to redevelop across portions of central Illinois late this afternoon and continue into tonight. Some of these storms will be capable of producing heavy rainfall which could result in localized flooding. Additionally, there is a marginal to slight risk for severe weather this evening with damaging wind gusts the primary hazard. An isolated, brief tornado cannot be ruled out. Minor flooding is ongoing along the Little Wabash River near Clay City. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. Oppressive heat will build across the region starting Tuesday afternoon, and will persist through the rest of the work week. Heat indices are expected to peak in the 105 to 115 degree range on Wednesday and Thursday. Minor flooding will continue along the Little Wabash River near Clay City through the week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed this evening. Expected storm motion is toward the east around 30 mph. Deubelbeiss
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
149 PM CDT Sun Jul 20 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0629 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg El Paso 40.74N 89.02W
07/20/2025 Woodford IL Emergency Mngr
Delayed report. Large tree fell onto an
adjacent home causing damage to roof and
siding. Time estimated from radar.
&&
BMDSpecial Weather Statement National Weather Service Lincoln IL 213 PM CDT Sun Jul 20 2025 ILZ027>031-036>038-202200- Knox-Stark-Peoria-Marshall-Woodford-Fulton-Tazewell-McLean- Including the cities of Galesburg, Toulon, Peoria, Lacon, Eureka, Canton, Pekin, Bloomington, and Normal 213 PM CDT Sun Jul 20 2025 ...FUNNEL CLOUDS SIGHTED OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS... Atmospheric conditions exist that favor the possible formation of cold air funnel clouds. These occur in vertically developed clouds, which usually are not associated with thunderstorms. They may persist for an extended period before dissipating. Low hanging clouds can also appear to dip up and down at times, but they will not show signs of any rapid rotation. An actual funnel cloud will exhibit spinning in a counter-clockwise direction. In rare instances these funnels may briefly touch down. Stay alert and be prepared to move to a safe shelter if a funnel cloud approaches the ground. Deubelbeiss
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 92 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:44 UTC.
5 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Shingles were blown off a few homes and corn crops were flattened on the south edge of town.
A few 6-inch diameter tree limbs were blown down.
A large tree limb was blown onto power lines.
A large tree was blown down on North Park Road near Lake Sara.
Street flooding occurred at various intersections in Pana.
Three large trees were blown over near Leaverton Park.
Many streets in Cowden had water flowing across them.
Robinson Creek flooded onto the roadway along Highway 16 near 1300 East.
Water was flowing over the roadway near Highway 128 and County Highway 3 west of Findlay.
Water was flowing across Main Street between Division Street and Oak Street.
Water was flowing across Poplar Street in Beecher City.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, July 2025
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: 1276254, 1276256, 1276255, 1276257, 1276272, 1276258, 1276279, 1276271, 1276287, 1276252, 1276253.