Thunderstorm Wind in Peoria County, Illinois

A 40-foot long 6-inch diameter tree branch snapped and hit a 39 year-old man. He later died of his injuries. A 40-50mph wind gust along an outflow boundary from a thunderstorm about 20 miles away caused the branch to fall.

An upper-level disturbance interacting with a nearly stationary frontal boundary draped across northern Illinois triggered several clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms during the afternoon of June 30th. The storms initiated in Wisconsin, then tracked southeastward into east-central Illinois mainly east of the I-55 corridor. Wind gusts as high as 60-70 mph downed numerous trees and power lines, while hail as large as half dollars was reported in a few spots. Meanwhile further west, 40-50 mph winds along a thunderstorm outflow boundary blew a 6-inch diameter tree branch onto a man in Peoria. The man later died from his injuries.