June 16, 2024: Thunderstorms and an Associated Gust Front Produce Scattered Wind Damage in Northern Illinois

Event Summary Graphic

Overview
Storm Reports
Additional Info

Overview

Thunderstorms associated with a mesoscale convective vortex (MCV) tracked across portions of northern Illinois during the afternoon of June 16th, producing scattered wind damage.

These storms weakened as they approached the Chicago metro, but an aggregate outflow boundary produced by these storms continued to surge eastward, producing strong winds that caused additional instances of wind damage in the Chicago metro despite very little accompanying rain and lightning. Blowing dust was also reported in the strong winds behind the outflow boundary.

The most significant damage occurred on the far west side of Rockford, where a microburst caused a gas station canopy to collapse and produced a concentrated area of tree and power line damage.

Meteorological Glossary:

Mesoscale convective vortex (MCV): A compact low pressure center that forms within large thunderstorm complexes. The winds around this low pressure center take on a swirl-like or vortex-like pattern and are oriented in a counterclockwise direction. MCVs can persist long after their parent storm complex has decayed, and can often go on to generate new thunderstorms several hours after this has happened. They are notoriously difficult to forecast as models often struggle to resolve to them and how they will evolve with time.

Outflow boundary: The leading edge of rain-cooled air that rushes out ahead of a thunderstorm after it produces a downdraft. This boundary is also known as a gust front. When an outflow boundary passes through, it usually produces a gusty wind shift and a drop in temperatures. In some cases, the winds behind an outflow boundary can be strong enough to produce damage, sometimes well before the associated storm arrives.

Microburst: A localized column of sinking air, or a downdraft, within a thunderstorm that spreads out and produces strong winds in various directions once it hits the ground. Microbursts often reach the ground with enough force to produce a concentrated area of wind damage, which can oftentimes be similar to what an EF-0 or EF-1 tornado can produce.

More information on different severe weather types and terms can be found here.

Storm Reports

Preliminary Map of Storm Reports

Preliminary Storm Report Map

Preliminary National Storm Reports

Interactive Map of Preliminary Storm Reports


Wind damage in Rockford. Photo courtesy of the Winnebago County Emergency Management Agency.	Wind damage in Rockford. Photo courtesy of the Winnebago County Emergency Management Agency.

Preliminary Local Storm Report...Summary
National Weather Service Chicago IL
536 AM CDT Mon Jun 17 2024

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0316 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     Polo                    41.98N 89.58W
06/16/2024                   Ogle               IL   Public

            A few 3-5 inch diameter tree limbs were
            downed in Polo. Time estimated from radar.

0317 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     3 ESE Dixon             41.83N 89.43W
06/16/2024  M54 MPH          Lee                IL   Mesonet

            Mesonet station UR568 Dixon2.

0325 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     1 NNE Dixon             41.86N 89.47W
06/16/2024                   Lee                IL   Broadcast Media

            Picture of downed tree relayed to us from a
            viewer.

0352 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     Rockford Airport        42.20N 89.10W
06/16/2024  M53 MPH          Winnebago          IL   ASOS

            KRFD ASOS peak gust.

0356 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     1 NNE Rockford          42.29N 89.08W
06/16/2024                   Winnebago          IL   Trained Spotter

            Report of a 5 to 6 inch diameter tree limb
            down near North Main Street and Auburn in
            Rockford.

0356 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     4 ENE Winnebago         42.29N 89.17W
06/16/2024                   Winnebago          IL   Broadcast Media

            Report of a 6 to 7 inch diameter tree limb
            down at WIFR in Rockford. Time estimated
            from radar.

0359 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     3 E Winnebago           42.27N 89.17W
06/16/2024                   Winnebago          IL   Broadcast Media

            Corrects previous tstm wnd dmg report from 3
            E Winnebago. Mobil gas station canopy
            collapsed at US 20 and Meridian Road on the
            far west side of Rockford.

0402 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     4 E Winnebago           42.27N 89.17W
06/16/2024                   Winnebago          IL   Emergency Mngr

            Pictures received of numerous trees and
            power lines down in the Parker Wood
            Subdivision. Time estimated from radar.

0404 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     3 W Rockford            42.27N 89.16W
06/16/2024                   Winnebago          IL   Emergency Mngr

            Pictures received of a large tree down on
            the side of a home. Time estimated from
            radar.

0408 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     3 NNE Leland            41.66N 88.78W
06/16/2024  M58 MPH          De Kalb            IL   Mesonet

            Ambient Weather station WS2902 recorded a
            58.2 mph gust associated with thunderstorm
            outflow.

0410 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     Rochelle                41.92N 89.08W
06/16/2024                   Ogle               IL   Trained Spotter

            Report of 5 inch diameter branch down on a
            home causing damage to the porch.

0415 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     1 NNW Cortland          41.93N 88.70W
06/16/2024  M52 MPH          De Kalb            IL   AWOS

            KDKB AWOS peak gust.

0415 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     2 N Maple Park          41.94N 88.60W
06/16/2024                   Kane               IL   Emergency Mngr

            Report of trees down blocking both lanes of
            traffic on west County Line Road at Winters
            Road in Maple Park. Time estimated from
            radar.

0416 PM     Hail             2 NW Roscoe             42.43N 89.03W
06/16/2024  U0.50 Inch       Winnebago          IL   Public

            From mPING.

0425 PM     Blowing Dust     1 N Lily Lake           41.96N 88.48W
06/16/2024                   Kane               IL   Public

            Strong gust front caused lots of blowing
            dust and significantly reduced visibility
            for about 10 minutes. Peak measured wind
            gust 49 mph.

0427 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     2 W Campton Hills       41.94N 88.43W
06/16/2024                   Kane               IL   Emergency Mngr

            Report of trees and power lines down on
            Circle drive in Campton Hills. Time
            estimated from radar.

0431 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     1 SW Campton Hills      41.93N 88.41W
06/16/2024                   Kane               IL   Emergency Mngr

            *** 1 INJ ***
            Report that a tree fell on a child resulting
            in an injury. Time estimated from radar.

0438 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     1 NW Elgin              42.05N 88.30W
06/16/2024                   Kane               IL   Emergency Mngr

            Report of a large tree blocking Buckeye
            Street in Elgin. Time estimated from radar.

0445 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     Lakewood                42.22N 88.38W
06/16/2024                   McHenry            IL   Public

            Trees downed.

0447 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     1 SSW West Dundee       42.09N 88.28W
06/16/2024                   Kane               IL   Emergency Mngr

            Multiple reports of down power lines and
            power outages near the Elgin, West Dundee,
            and Carpentersville areas. Time estimated
            from radar.

0506 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     Bolingbrook             41.70N 88.07W
06/16/2024                   Will               IL   Public

            Report of 8 inch diameter tree limb snapped.
            Time estimated from radar.

0525 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     Humboldt Park - Chicago 41.90N 87.72W
06/16/2024                   Cook               IL   911 Call Center

            Numerous trees and large branches down in
            the west Humboldt Park neighborhood.

0530 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     1 NW Portage Park - Chi 41.96N 87.77W
06/16/2024                   Cook               IL   911 Call Center

            Numerous downed trees/large branches in the
            Jefferson Park and Portage Park
            neighborhoods.

0537 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     1 NE Montrose Harbor    41.97N 87.63W
06/16/2024  M47 MPH          LMZ741             IL   Mesonet

            Corrects previous tstm wnd gst report from 1
            NE Montrose Harbor. Mesonet station XMTB
            Montrose Beach Light measured a 41 kt (47
            mph) wind gust.

0540 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     2 E Winthrop Harbor     42.48N 87.78W
06/16/2024  M40 MPH          LMZ740             IL   Buoy



0544 PM     Tstm Wnd Gst     3 NE Navy Pier          41.92N 87.57W
06/16/2024  M49 MPH          LMZ741             IL   Mesonet

            Mesonet station CHII2 Harrison-Dever Crib
            measured a 43 kt (49 mph) wind gust.

0545 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     1 SSE Chatham - Chicago 41.73N 87.61W
06/16/2024                   Cook               IL   911 Call Center

            Several trees/large branches down in Chatham
            and Burnside neighborhoods.

Additional Information

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Additional recaps can be found on the NWS Chicago Past Events Page

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June 16, 2024: Thunderstorms and an Associated Gust Front Produce Scattered Wind Damage in Northern Illinois