A cluster of storms in Northeast Iowa and Southwest Wisconsin brought an unexpected cold front, dark clouds and even a reported funnel cloud to the Galesburg area yesterday afternoon.
Chris Miller of the National Weather Service says unseasonably fall temperatures brought strong storms with heavy rainfall in those northern areas.
The cool air from those storms pushed strongly southward with high winds, with gusts near Peoria reaching 50 to 60 mph.
Miller says they had expected the front to stay in Northern Illinois, along I-80.
“But the cold air behind it was a lot cooler than we anticipated and it pushed that much further south,” Miller says. “We thought maybe the stronger southerly winds in central Illinois would keep things from moving things too far south but apparently the cool air won out and dropped temperatures a little in some area as it came through.”
The front died out close to the NWS forecast office in Lincoln and dissipated in the night.
No heavy damage was reported to the NWS outside except for a house with some shingle damage near Henderson and a few downed trees.
As far as the unseasonably warm start to the fall season, it’s sticking around.
Other than possible rainfall early next week bringing things down to high’s in the 70’s, the next two weeks are staying hot
