Alert archive / Illinois / Flash Flood Warnings in 2026

Flash Flood Warning 39, NWS Lincoln, IL

June 21, 2026Clay County, Lawrence County, Richland County, Illinois

NWS Lincoln, IL issued this flash flood warning at Jun 21, 2026, 6:11 PM CDT for Clay County, Lawrence County, Richland County, Illinois. It was in force for 104 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Jun 21, 2026, 6:11 PM CDT (23:11 UTC)
Expired: Jun 21, 2026, 7:55 PM CDT
In force: 104 min
Issued by: NWS Lincoln, IL
Area: Storm-based polygon
Flood severity: None

Counties Clay County, IL, Lawrence County, IL, Richland County, IL

The radar

The Evansville,IN radar (KVWX), 50 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:09 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.

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where	Remark
Jun 21, 7:32 PM CDT	FLASH FLOOD	2 S Lawrenceville, IL

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

Did it verify

Verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow matched one storm report to this flash flood warning; the first came 81 minutes after it went out.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 11.2 hours before the alert went out and 174 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.

Skew-T log-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.

Mixed-layer CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1482 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 41 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 35 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

883 
WGUS53 KILX 212311
FFWILX
ILC025-101-159-220300-
/O.NEW.KILX.FF.W.0039.260621T2311Z-260622T0300Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
611 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

The National Weather Service in Lincoln has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...
  Clay County in south central Illinois...
  Lawrence County in southeastern Illinois...
  Richland County in southeastern Illinois...

* Until 1000 PM CDT.

* At 610 PM CDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing 
  heavy rain across the warned area. Between 2 and 4 inches of rain 
  have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are 
  possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected 
  to begin shortly.

  HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.

  SOURCE...Radar.

  IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban
           areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as
           other poor drainage and low-lying areas.

* Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  Olney, Flora, Lawrenceville, Sumner, Bridgeport, Louisville, Clay 
  City, St. Francisville, Noble, Xenia, Parkersburg, Sailor Springs, 
  Russellville, Olney Noble Airport, Chauncey, Lawrenceville 
  Vincennes Airport, Claremont, Calhoun, Dundas and Red Hills State 
  Park.

This includes the following State Parks...
	Red Hills State Park.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood 
deaths occur in vehicles.

&&

LAT...LON 3880 8870 3885 8804 3885 8755 3885 8753
      3882 8753 3878 8750 3877 8751 3877 8750
      3874 8750 3869 8752 3867 8760 3864 8762
      3861 8763 3859 8761 3859 8764 3857 8765
      3857 8815 3860 8815 3861 8870

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED

$$

Deubelbeiss

1 follow-up statement

010 
WGUS73 KILX 220055
FFSILX

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
755 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

ILC025-101-159-220105-
/O.CAN.KILX.FF.W.0039.000000T0000Z-260622T0300Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Clay IL-Lawrence IL-Richland IL-
755 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR CLAY, LAWRENCE AND RICHLAND 
COUNTIES...

The heavy rain has ended. Portions of the Flash Flood Warning have 
been replaced by an Areal Flood Warning through 8 AM Monday. Please 
continue to heed remaining road closures.

&&

LAT...LON 3880 8870 3885 8804 3885 8755 3885 8753
      3882 8753 3878 8750 3877 8751 3877 8750
      3874 8750 3869 8752 3867 8760 3864 8762
      3861 8763 3859 8761 3859 8764 3857 8765
      3857 8815 3860 8815 3861 8870

$$

Deubelbeiss

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jun 21, 3:41 PM CDT, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

A Tornado Watch is in effect for locations along and south of a Shelbyville to Paris line through 9pm this evening.
Below normal temperatures will persist through the week before a marked warming trend pushes readings well into the 80s close to 90 degrees by next weekend.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 21, 3:41 PM CDT, 2 hours 30 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
341 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- A Tornado Watch is in effect for locations along and south of
  a Shelbyville to Paris line through 9pm this evening.

- Below normal temperatures will persist through the week
  before a marked warming trend pushes readings well into the
  80s close to 90 degrees by next weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 341 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

*** Tornado Watch ***

20z/3pm radar imagery shows a band of rain with embedded
thunderstorms pushing across central Illinois. The pre-storm
environment remains stable across a large portion of the area:
however, MLCAPEs have increased to 500-1000J/kg south of a warm
frontal boundary draped along the I-70 corridor. With surface
dewpoints in the upper 60s/lower 70s in the warm sector, RAP
suggests further destabilization over the next 3-4 hours as
MLCAPEs reach 1000-1500J/kg. Deep-layer shear is currently being
augmented by an approaching MCV, while 0-1km shear has increased
to 20-25kt near the boundary. As a result, the southern part of
the rain band now contains rotating supercells capable of
producing tornadoes and damaging wind gusts. A Tornado Watch has
subsequently been issued for locations along/south of a
Shelbyville to Paris line through 9pm. Based on radar trends and
latest HRRR/RAP data, it appears the primary storm risk will
push into Indiana by 6-7pm. Meanwhile further west, will have to
keep an eye on a broken line of much weaker cells currently
firing along a Quincy to Kansas City line. These storms are in a
much more unfavorable environment and are not expected to
become severe: however, gusty winds will still be possible into
the evening as they spread E/SE into central Illinois...mainly
along/south of the I-72 corridor.

*** Quiet Mid-Week ***

Cool/dry weather will settle into the region for Monday and
Tuesday with daytime highs well below normal for this time of
year in the 70s and overnight lows dipping into the 50s. Given
persistent upper troughing over Canada, northwesterly flow will
continue for the rest of the week. The next embedded short-wave
trough and accompanying cold front will push through central
Illinois on Wednesday. While deep-layer moisture will be
lacking, there will be strong enough forcing to warrant low
chance PoPs (30-40%) for showers/thunder, especially during the
afternoon and evening.

*** Weekend Warm-Up and Storm Risk ***

The mid-week frontal boundary is progged to stall across the
Ohio River Valley on Thursday, then begin lifting slowly back
northward by the weekend as upper heights rise in response to an
upstream trough digging west of the Rockies. While the exact
speed of this process is still in question, model consensus
indicates the most favorable period for rain will be from late
Friday through late Saturday when several bouts of convection
may develop along/north of the front. It is still too early to
discuss any specific severe weather risks: however, all machine
learning algorithms show low probabilities (less than 15% chance)
for severe. Once the boundary lifts into the Great Lakes, a
return to more typical summertime weather is anticipated for
early next week. In fact, the 12z NBM shows a 30-50% chance for
temperatures climbing above 90 degrees by next Sunday.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/...
Issued at 1218 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

Showers and a few thunderstorms are overspreading central
Illinois early this afternoon with additional development
possible behind this initial line. Confidence in details on
coverage/location of late afternoon/evening storms remains low,
thus precludes more than a prob30 mention at this time.
Meanwhile, E/ESE winds currently in place are expected to back
to NE by late this evening as weak low pressure moves across the
region. MVFR and eventually IFR ceilings will accompany the low
passage, with slow improvement expected from the northwest
behind the departing wave Monday.

&&

.ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Flood Watch until 1 AM CDT Monday for ILZ038-042>046-048>057-
061>063-066>068-071>073.

&&

KEY MESSAGES...Barnes
DISCUSSION...Barnes
AVIATION...Deubelbeiss

Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 21, 3:37 PM CDT, 2 hours 34 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
337 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-222045-
Knox-Stark-Peoria-Marshall-Woodford-Fulton-Tazewell-McLean-Schuyler-
Mason-Logan-De Witt-Piatt-Champaign-Vermilion-Cass-Menard-Scott-
Morgan-Sangamon-Christian-Macon-Moultrie-Douglas-Coles-Edgar-Shelby-
Cumberland-Clark-Effingham-Jasper-Crawford-Clay-Richland-Lawrence-
337 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois, east
central Illinois, southeast Illinois and west central Illinois.

.DAY ONE...Tonight.

Thunderstorms are expected through this evening with some potentially
strong to severe south of a Shelbyville to Paris line. Damaging wind
gusts and a few isolated tornadoes are possible. In addition, locally
heavy rain is expected which will lead to some pockets of flooding.

Several rivers are in minor to moderate flood today, and additional
rises are expected following heavy rainfall tonight. Rivers expected
to flood include portions of the Illinois, Sangamon, Wabash, Little
Wabash, and Spoon Rivers.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday.

Several rivers will continue in minor to moderate flood for many
days, including portions of the Illinois, Wabash, Little Wabash,
Sangamon, and Spoon Rivers.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation may be needed through this evening.

Expected storm motion is toward the northeast around 40 mph.

Deubelbeiss

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 21, 4:52 PM CDT, 1 hour 19 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
452 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

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

0445 PM     Tornado          3 ESE Annapolis         39.13N 87.77W
06/21/2026                   Crawford           IL   Official NWS Obs

            TDS observed on radar.

&&

Local storm report, Jun 21, 5:02 PM CDT, 1 hour 9 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
502 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

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

0501 PM     Flood            Trilla                  39.38N 88.35W
06/21/2026                   Coles              IL   Emergency Mngr

            Six inches water over Co Rd 650 E near Clear
            Creek.

&&

Local storm report, Jun 21, 5:05 PM CDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
505 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

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

0503 PM     Funnel Cloud     3 S Louisville          38.72N 88.51W
06/21/2026                   Clay               IL   Trained Spotter

&&

Local storm report, Jun 21, 5:28 PM CDT, 43 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
528 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

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

0343 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     1 E Neoga               39.32N 88.43W
06/21/2026                   Cumberland         IL   Broadcast Media

            Photo of debris strewn in field about
            one-half mile east of town. Possible
            tornado.

&&

Local storm report, Jun 21, 5:50 PM CDT, 21 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
550 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

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

0524 PM     Hail             2 SSW Flat Rock         38.88N 87.69W
06/21/2026  M1.00 Inch       Crawford           IL   Emergency Mngr

&&

Local storm report, Jun 21, 6:07 PM CDT, 4 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
607 PM CDT Sun Jun 21 2026

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

0530 PM     Tstm Wnd Dmg     Birds                   38.84N 87.67W
06/21/2026                   Lawrence           IL   Emergency Mngr

            Collapsed barn. Possible tornado.

&&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Lincoln, IL issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 20, 7:14 PM CDT	River Flood Warning	ILX	Cass, Mason	49 hr
Jun 20, 7:20 PM CDT	River Flood Warning	ILX	Fulton, Knox	3 days
Jun 21, 9:24 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	ILX	Lawrence	10 days
Jun 21, 10:06 AM CDT	River Flood Warning	ILX	Fulton	34 hr
Jun 21, 2:15 PM CDT	Areal Flood Advisory	ILX	Sangamon	5 hr
Jun 21, 2:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Effingham, Shelby	64 min
Jun 21, 3:04 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Effingham, Shelby	41 min
Jun 21, 3:09 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ILX	Effingham, Shelby	4 hr
Jun 21, 3:14 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Clay, Effingham, Jasper, Richland	61 min
Jun 21, 3:22 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Clay, Effingham, Jasper, Richland	38 min
Jun 21, 3:38 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Coles, Cumberland, Effingham, Jasper, Shelby	67 min
Jun 21, 3:51 PM CDT	Tornado Warning Tornado observed	ILX	Crawford, Jasper	39 min
Jun 21, 3:55 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Clay, Effingham	32 min
Jun 21, 3:56 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ILX	Clay, Effingham	4 hr
Jun 21, 3:59 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Clark, Coles, Cumberland	46 min
Jun 21, 4:06 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ILX	Cumberland, Effingham	3 hr
Jun 21, 4:10 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Clay, Effingham	17 min
Jun 21, 4:23 PM CDT	Tornado Warning Tornado observed	ILX	Clark, Crawford, Jasper	43 min
Jun 21, 4:29 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Clay	46 min
Jun 21, 4:30 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Clark, Coles, Crawford, Edgar, Jasper	60 min
Jun 21, 4:32 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Clark, Crawford, Jasper	58 min
Jun 21, 4:37 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ILX	Clark, Clay, Cumberland, Jasper, Richland	3 hr
Jun 21, 4:46 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Crawford, Jasper	25 min
Jun 21, 4:52 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Clay, Effingham, Jasper	53 min
Jun 21, 4:55 PM CDT	Flash Flood Warning	ILX	Clark, Crawford	3 hr
Jun 21, 4:56 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Lawrence, Richland	64 min
Jun 21, 5:12 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Clay, Richland	48 min
Jun 21, 5:20 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Crawford, Lawrence	40 min
Jun 21, 5:21 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Clay, Jasper	39 min
Jun 21, 5:27 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Crawford, Jasper	63 min
Jun 21, 5:49 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Lawrence, Richland	41 min
Jun 21, 5:52 PM CDT	Tornado Warning	ILX	Clay, Jasper, Richland	25 min
Jun 21, 5:58 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Clay, Jasper, Richland	62 min
Jun 21, 5:59 PM CDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ILX	Crawford, Jasper, Lawrence, Richland	61 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Illinois, 2026 Every flash flood 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.