Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 111, NWS Quad Cities, IA
NWS Quad Cities, IA issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 17, 2026, 5:27 PM CDT for 7 counties in Iowa; Henderson County, Illinois. It was in force for 63 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 17, 2026, 5:27 PM CDT (22:27 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 17, 2026, 6:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 63 min
- Issued by
- NWS Quad Cities, IA
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Tornado
- Possible
- Damage threat
- Considerable
- Hail
- 0.75 in
- Wind
- 70.0 mph
Counties Des Moines County, IA, Henry County, IA, Jefferson County, IA, Lee County, IA, Louisa County, IA, Van Buren County, IA, Washington County, IA, Henderson County, IL
The radar
The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 105 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:28 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 12:40 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 9 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 10.5 hours before the alert went out and 261 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 84 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -150 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1053 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 27 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 65 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 164 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 17, 1:11 PM CDT, 4 hours 16 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- A strong storm system will bring the threat for severe storms once again to our area through this evening. SPC continues to highlight nearly our entire area in an Enhanced Risk (level 3 of 5) for severe weather.
- A flood watch has been issued for much of the area through tonight for the potential of excessive rainfall with the final round of storms this afternoon/tonight. Soils across the area are saturated north of I-80 and very moist south of I-80.
- Much cooler conditions are expected this weekend. Unseasonably cool temperatures in the 30s Saturday night and Sunday night will bring the potential for frost/freeze, especially in our north.
- Area rivers are on the rise from the recent rounds of heavy rain, and heavy rainfall later today may push them even higher. Refer to the hydro section below for more details.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 17, 1:11 PM CDT, 4 hours 16 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
111 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- A strong storm system will bring the threat for severe storms
once again to our area through this evening. SPC continues to
highlight nearly our entire area in an Enhanced Risk (level 3
of 5) for severe weather.
- A flood watch has been issued for much of the area through
tonight for the potential of excessive rainfall with the final
round of storms this afternoon/tonight. Soils across the area
are saturated north of I-80 and very moist south of I-80.
- Much cooler conditions are expected this weekend. Unseasonably cool
temperatures in the 30s Saturday night and Sunday night will
bring the potential for frost/freeze, especially in our north.
- Area rivers are on the rise from the recent rounds of heavy
rain, and heavy rainfall later today may push them even
higher. Refer to the hydro section below for more details.
&&
.SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
Issued at 1252 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
Convective initiation has occurred across eastern Iowa. The
individual discrete cells will rapidly grow upscale into one or
more broken lines ahead of the cold front.
The atmosphere is becoming increasingly moist so the storms will
have plenty of fuel to produce heavy rainfall. The axis for the
heavier rain is somewhat narrow but rainfall amounts of an inch
in an hour will be possible with the stronger storms. Where
storms linger or repeat over the same areas, rainfall amounts
of 2 to 3 inches in a short time will be possible.
The pre-frontal line(s) of storms look to push east of the
Mississippi in the 6-8 PM time frame with the cold front
arriving during the mid to late evening hours. Very short range
models which had been pointing to a solid line of storms with
the front are now trending toward a scattered to broken line
with not much thunder associated with it. This 'may' be an
indication the convective allowing models are struggling with
the overall forcing from the upper level system.
The bulk of the rain looks to end across the area by midnight
but scattered rain showers along and immediately behind the
front will linger past midnight. However, the overall trend will
be decreasing areal coverage from west to east after midnight.
&&
.LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...
Issued at 306 AM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
Much colder air will continue to move into the area for the weekend
as a northwest flow pattern develops aloft. An area of high pressure
will build into the area Saturday night, which could set up our
first bout of frost/freeze conditions during the growing season.
There does appear to be a mid-level trough sweeping through the area
Saturday night, which could result in some cloud cover that could
keep our temperatures from falling too much, limiting our
frost/freeze potential. Despite this, the NBM probabilities of
freezing temperatures Saturday night are still around 50-80% along
and north of Interstate 80. Another night of frost/freeze conditions
are possible Sunday night as well, with similar exceedance
probabilities for freezing temperatures.
A quieter weather pattern will persist into early next week as a
broad upper ridge remains in place through the central US. A larger
trough begins to take shape across the western US into the latter
portion of the week. Therefore, some warming and a move toward some
smaller precipitation chances (20-40%) start to return to the area
by Thursday with a larger storm system potentially nearing the
region for Friday.
&&
.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 1225 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
Convective initiation has begun over eastern Iowa with surface
winds gusting to 30 knots. Very short range models indicate
rapid upscale growth of TSRA through 00z/18. Discrete TSRA cells
will grow upscale into a line that congeals along the
Mississippi River by 00z/18. Based on forecast soundings,
probability is high for wind gusts over 50 knots with the
discrete cells and as the line forms. By 06z/18 the cold front
will have swept through the area with widespread MVFR conditions
and winds gusting up to 25 knots.
&&
.HYDROLOGY...
Issued at 1136 AM CDT Thu Apr 16 2026
Discussion...
Over the past five days, multiple rounds of heavy rain have
impacted eastern Iowa, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
Rainfall amounts have run from 2 to 5 inches of rain; much of
this rain has been north of Highway 30.
Another round of heavy rain is forecast this afternoon and
evening with amounts running from a half inch to around 1.5
inches. With area soils running from moist to near saturation,
this additional rainfall will quickly run off into area
waterways resulting in new or increased river flooding along
with the potential for flash flooding.
Much of this rain is forecast to fall across southeast Iowa,
west central Illinois and into northern Illinois. River basins
impacted would be the Rock, lower Iowa, Skunk, Des Moines and La
Moine.
Rock River...
Based on overall river forecasts and another round of heavy rain
expected today, confidence is high (>80%) that the entire
length of the Rock River will reach flood stage by the weekend
and remain above flood stage into much of next week.
Mississippi River...
Routed flow coming down from the upper Mississippi, Wisconsin,
Rock, Iowa and other tributary rivers will cause general rises
along the length of the Mississippi. Based on the current routed
flow and another round of heavy rain, confidence is high (>80%)
that the Mississippi will reach flood stage from Muscatine down
through Keithsburg and at Gregory Landing. Gladstone and
Burlington are already above flood stage and will see additional
rises as the additional routed flow arrives over the weekend
and into next week.
Iowa Tributary Rivers...
Rivers in eastern Iowa are running high from the rounds of heavy
rain. Flood warnings continue for the lower Wapsipinicon River
near DeWitt and the Iowa River above Coralville near Marengo.
Based on routed flow, the lower Cedar River near Conesville will
go above flood stage over the weekend.
The North Skunk River near Sigourney is forecast to go above
flood stage tonight with general rises expected farther
downstream and on the Skunk River.
&&
.DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IA...Flood Watch through late tonight for IAZ040>042-052>054-
064>068-077-078-088-089-099.
IL...Flood Watch through late tonight for ILZ001-002-007-009-
015>018-024>026-034-035.
MO...Flood Watch through late tonight for MOZ010.
&&
SHORT TERM...08
LONG TERM...Schultz
AVIATION...08
HYDROLOGY...08Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 17, 3:23 AM CDT, 14 hours 4 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL 323 AM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-180900- Buchanan-Delaware-Dubuque-Benton-Linn-Jones-Jackson-Iowa-Johnson- Cedar-Clinton-Muscatine-Scott-Keokuk-Washington-Louisa-Jefferson- Henry IA-Des Moines-Van Buren-Lee-Jo Daviess-Stephenson-Carroll- Whiteside-Rock Island-Henry IL-Bureau-Putnam-Mercer-Henderson- Warren-Hancock-McDonough-Scotland-Clark- 323 AM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of north central Illinois...northwest Illinois...west central Illinois...east central Iowa...northeast Iowa...southeast Iowa and northeast Missouri. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT An Enhanced Risk (Level 3 of 5) for severe weather remains in place across the area for this afternoon and evening. Damaging winds and tornadoes, some possibly strong, are the primary threats. Localized flash flooding is also possible. Southerly winds will gust to around 40 mph this afternoon prior to the severe thunderstorm development. Area rivers are experiencing flooding. Please see the latest Flood Statements and Flood Warnings for details. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY Much colder air will bring the potential for frost and freeze conditions to parts of the area Saturday night and Sunday night. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is likely for this afternoon and evening. JTS
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 17, 4:35 PM CDT, 52 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
435 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0418 PM Hail 2 E Rock Grove 42.46N 89.48W
04/17/2026 E1.75 Inch Stephenson IL Public
Report from mPING: Golf Ball (1.75 in.).
&&Local storm report, Apr 17, 4:53 PM CDT, 34 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
453 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0353 PM Hail Toddville 42.10N 91.72W
04/17/2026 M1.00 Inch Linn IA Fire Dept/Rescue
Delayed report. Relayed via county EM.
&&Local storm report, Apr 17, 4:56 PM CDT, 31 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
456 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0452 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 3 WNW Cascade 42.31N 91.07W
04/17/2026 E67 MPH Dubuque IA Emergency Mngr
Report relayed by Emergency Manager. Time
estimated by radar.
&&
CMDLocal storm report, Apr 17, 5:04 PM CDT, 23 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
504 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0445 PM Hail Dakota 42.39N 89.53W
04/17/2026 M2.75 Inch Stephenson IL Public
report from LOT on Dakota storm.. they
received a photo of baseball size hail..
&&
MJLLocal storm report, Apr 17, 5:23 PM CDT, 4 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
523 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0217 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 3 S Ironhills 42.11N 90.76W
04/17/2026 Jackson IA Trained Spotter
Powerline snapped and sheet metal roof
ripped off. Tornado possible.
&&
CMDLocal storm report, Apr 17, 5:27 PM CDT, 0 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
527 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0452 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg Rubio 41.22N 91.93W
04/17/2026 Washington IA Trained Spotter
Tree limbs several inches in diameter down.
&&The office that day
Everything else NWS Quad Cities, IA issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 11:21 AM CDT | River Flood Warning | DVN | Muscatine, Scott | 10 days |
| Apr 17, 11:21 AM CDT | River Flood Warning | DVN | Muscatine | 21 days |
| Apr 17, 12:46 PM CDT | Flood Watch | DVN | Buchanan, Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Des Moines, Dubuque and 10 more | 12 hr |
| Apr 17, 12:47 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Delaware, Dubuque, Jones, Linn | 58 min |
| Apr 17, 12:59 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Cedar, Clinton, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Linn | 61 min |
| Apr 17, 1:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson, Jones | 65 min |
| Apr 17, 1:45 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Dubuque, Jackson | 45 min |
| Apr 17, 1:56 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Clinton, Dubuque, Jackson, Jones | 64 min |
| Apr 17, 2:11 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Dubuque, Jackson | 49 min |
| Apr 17, 2:14 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Jackson | 46 min |
| Apr 17, 2:23 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | DVN | Dubuque, Jackson | 6 hr |
| Apr 17, 2:48 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Jackson | 42 min |
| Apr 17, 3:24 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Linn | 66 min |
| Apr 17, 3:25 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Dubuque, Jackson | 35 min |
| Apr 17, 3:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Benton, Buchanan, Iowa, Johnson, Linn | 76 min |
| Apr 17, 3:47 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Benton, Linn | 43 min |
| Apr 17, 4:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Buchanan, Delaware, Dubuque | 60 min |
| Apr 17, 4:13 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Henry, Jefferson, Keokuk, Van Buren, Washington | 77 min |
| Apr 17, 4:18 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Buchanan, Delaware, Jones, Linn | 42 min |
| Apr 17, 4:22 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Jones, Linn | 38 min |
| Apr 17, 4:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Des Moines, Lee, Van Buren | 54 min |
| Apr 17, 4:27 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Jefferson, Van Buren | 48 min |
| Apr 17, 4:36 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Henry, Jefferson, Keokuk, Washington | 54 min |
| Apr 17, 4:48 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Dubuque, Jackson, Jones | 57 min |
| Apr 17, 4:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Delaware, Dubuque | 52 min |
| Apr 17, 4:54 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson | 66 min |
| Apr 17, 4:58 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Dubuque, Jackson, Jones | 62 min |
| Apr 17, 5:08 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Cedar, Johnson, Louisa, Muscatine, Washington | 52 min |
| Apr 17, 5:12 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Cedar, Johnson, Louisa, Muscatine, Washington | 63 min |
| Apr 17, 5:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Lee | 41 min |
| Apr 17, 5:26 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Cedar, Dubuque, Jones, Linn | 31 min |
| Apr 17, 5:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Jackson | 75 min |
| Apr 17, 5:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Cedar, Clinton, Scott | 62 min |
| Apr 17, 5:46 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Des Moines, Henry, Louisa | 24 min |
| Apr 17, 5:47 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Lee | 43 min |
| Apr 17, 5:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Clinton, Muscatine, Scott | 54 min |
| Apr 17, 5:55 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Lee | 50 min |
| Apr 17, 6:06 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Clinton, Muscatine, Scott | 42 min |
| Apr 17, 6:31 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Lee | 59 min |
| Apr 17, 6:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Clinton | 68 min |
| Apr 17, 10:15 AM CDT | River Flood Warning | DVN | Stephenson | 6 days |
| Apr 17, 3:27 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Carroll, Jo Daviess, Stephenson | 48 min |
| Apr 17, 4:09 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Stephenson | 39 min |
| Apr 17, 5:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Stephenson | 8 min |
| Apr 17, 6:00 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Hancock, Henderson, McDonough, Mercer, Rock Island, Warren | 60 min |
| Apr 17, 6:14 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Bureau, Henry | 76 min |
| Apr 17, 6:25 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | DVN | Hancock | 65 min |
| Apr 17, 6:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Carroll, Stephenson | 29 min |
| Apr 17, 6:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Bureau, Henry, Mercer, Rock Island | 62 min |
| Apr 17, 6:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DVN | Hancock, Henderson, McDonough, Warren | 63 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 2026Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Illinois, 2026Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2026
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.