Thunderstorm Wind — Effingham, Illinois

2024-05-07 · near Effingham Co Mem Arp, Effingham, Illinois

Event narrative

The rooftop air conditioning units were blown off the Puerto Vallarta restaurant.

Wider weather episode

An upper-level disturbance interacting with a cold front triggered a line of strong to severe thunderstorms across Iowa and Missouri during the pre-dawn hours of May 7th. The squall line advanced eastward across central Illinois between 5am CDT and 9am CDT in a weakening state: however, scattered wind damage was observed. One of the hardest hit locations was Effingham, where downburst winds of 70mph created minor structural damage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.0900, -88.5483)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1171926. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.