April 2-3, 2016 High Wind Event

Wind Measurements

Saturday's Peak Wind Reports

LOCATION                     SPEED     TIME   

3 S Newman                   66 mph     1:30 pm
Springfield (Capital AP)     62 mph    12:02 pm
Mattoon (Coles Co. AP)       61 mph     2:42 pm
Bloomington                  60 mph     3:09 pm
1 W Pekin                    60 mph    12:10 pm
1 W Sidney                   60 mph    12:40 pm
Arcola                       59 mph     2:30 pm
1 NNE Divernon               59 mph     3:25 pm
Jacksonville Airport         59 mph    12:15 pm
Lacon (Marshall Co. Arpt)    59 mph    10:55 am
2 NNE Ashland                58 mph     1:50 pm
Galesburg Airport            58 mph    11:15 am
Lake of the Woods            58 mph    11:15 am
Bloomington (Central IL AP)  57 mph    12:30 pm
Decatur Airport              57 mph    12:50 pm
1 SSE Mahomet                57 mph     1:13 pm
4 S Ellisville               56 mph    10:25 am
Ogden                        56 mph    12:12 pm
Rantoul Nat'l Aviation Ctr   56 mph    12:55 pm
Savoy (Willard Airport)      56 mph    12:51 pm
Danville                     55 mph     2:30 pm
Paris (Edgar Co. Airport)    55 mph     1:55 pm
Pekin                        55 mph     1:00 pm
8 E Petersburg               55 mph     1:15 pm
3 W Bismarck                 54 mph     5:15 pm 
South Jacksonville           54 mph     1:10 pm
1 N Tilton                   54 mph     2:01 pm
Peoria Int'l Airport         53 mph    10:54 am
Lawrenceville-Vincennes AP   52 mph     3:46 pm
2 E Mattoon                  52 mph     3:25 pm
Robinson (Crawford Co. AP)   52 mph     3:15 pm
2 SE Urbana                  52 mph    12:30 pm
Charleston                   51 mph     2:10 pm
1 W Havana                   51 mph     2:10 pm
Taylorville Airport          51 mph     2:35 pm
Olney                        50 mph     2:55 pm
Tuscola                      50 mph    12:15 pm

Sunday's Peak Wind Reports

LOCATION                     SPEED     TIME   

Lacon                        54 mph    4:10 pm
1 W Havana                   50 mph    5:25 pm
2 W Hopedale                 50 mph    5:25 pm
Bloomington                  49 mph    4:09 pm
1 NNE Divernon               47 mph    4:25 pm
1 W Pekin                    47 mph    5:10 pm
1 SSE Mahomet                46 mph    4:43 pm
Savoy (Willard Airport)      46 mph    4:16 pm
Bloomington (Central IL AP)  45 mph    4:58 pm
Lake of the Woods            45 mph    4:41 pm
1 WSW East Peoria            45 mph    5:10 pm
2 NNE Ashland                44 mph    4:54 pm
1 S Forsyth                  44 mph    3:38 pm
Danville (Vermilion Rgl AP)  44 mph    3:55 pm
Galesburg Airport            44 mph    5:15 pm
2 S Jacksonville             44 mph    4:25 pm
Decatur Airport              43 mph    4:23 pm
Peoria Int'l Airport         43 mph    4:02 pm
Rantoul Nat'l Aviation Ctr   43 mph    2:55 pm
Springfield (Capital AP)     43 mph    5:09 pm
1 W Sidney                   42 mph    4:44 pm
3 NW Champaign               42 mph    5:13 pm
Beardstown                   41 mph    3:10 pm
Jacksonville Airport         41 mph    3:55 pm
Lacon (Marshall Co. AP)      41 mph    4:55 pm
3 W Shelbyville              41 mph    4:12 pm
4 E Waynesville              40 mph    2:41 pm

Damage Reports

Here is a sample of reports we have received. Other damage may have occurred, which was not relayed to our office. 
 

Champaign County:

• Ogden:  Large tree limbs down
• Rantoul:  3 vehicles blown over on I-57 near exit 250
• Urbana:  Large tree uprooted on Cunningham Ave.

Christian County:

• Pana:  Large trees uprooted and snapped at the base

Douglas County:

• 3 S Newman:  Large tree limbs (over 2" diameter) blown down.  Some shingles blown off a house.
• Tuscola:  Two trees blown down

Edgar County:

• 10 SE Paris:  Several trees snapped or uprooted, siding partially blown off a house, roof partially blown off an outbuilding.
• Paris:  Wind blew over a pickup truck which was towing a trailer

Fulton County:

• St. David:  Trampoline bown across the street to near the post office

Logan County:

• 2 NW Hartsburg:  Semi-trailer blown over on I-155 at mile marker 7
• Lawndale:  14 power poles blown over along old route 66 between Lincoln and Lawndale
• Lincoln (Logan Co. Airport):  Shingles blown off the NWS office

McLean County:

• Lexington: Trailers blown over on I-55 between Lexington and Chenoa

Macon County:

• Decatur:  Large tree down at 20th and William St.
• Forsyth:  Light pole at baseball diamond blown down
• Maroa:  Semi-trailer southbound US-51 was blown over
• Warrensburg:  Grain bin blown onto Wise Rd. between Kenney and Strawn Rds.

Marshall County:

• Hopewell: Tree fell onto a house

Menard County:

• 8 E Petersburg: Small tree limbs (less than 2" diameter) blown down
• Petersburg:  A few trees fell, some landing on top of power lines

Peoria County:

• Hanna City:  Large tree split down the middle
• Princeville: Farm outbuilding lost part of its roof

Piatt County:

• Cisco: Tree snapped near the base, flagpole bent at a 90-degree angle 

Sangamon County:

• Chatham:  Tree split
• Springfield:  Several trees down, including a large tree down on a house in Westchester subdivision

Shelby County:

• 1 SW Windsor:  Camper blown off route 16

Tazewell County:

• Pekin:  Shingles blown off a house, large tree snapped near the base

Vermilion County:

• Danville:  Dozens of large tree limbs blown down, causing power outages
• Westville:  Large tree snapped near the base

Woodford County County:

• El Paso:  Semi overturned on I-39 north of town

Photos & Video:

Blowng dust near Windsor (photo by Everett Lau)	SE of Paris (photo by Everett Lau)	Near Lawndale (photo by Kathy Payne)	Decatur (Photo by Jackie Hayes)

Environment

The image below, courtesy of the Chicago NWS office, shows the mean sea-level pressure (left) and the 3-hourly pressure change (right), from 2 am to 7 pm on April 2nd. The pressure value of 997 millibars over Milwaukee during the morning is rather low for a springtime "clipper" system, and such deep lows have an inherent stronger wind field due to the change in pressure (referred to as a "pressure gradient"). In addition, the rapid speed of the low's movement (which is common for clippers) produced a high rate of change in pressure values. The highest change in pressure values tracked over northern Illinois, which also saw wind gusts of 50-60 mph (visit https://www.weather.gov/lot/2016apr02_windssnow for more information). 

Image courtesy:  National Weather Service, Chicago