Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 124, NWS Lincoln, IL
NWS Lincoln, IL issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 17, 2026, 5:03 PM CDT for Fulton County, Illinois. It was in force for 42 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, 5:03 PM CDT (22:03 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 17, 2026, 5:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 42 min
- Issued by
- NWS Lincoln, IL
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Damage threat
- Considerable
- Hail
- 1.75 in
- Wind
- 60.0 mph
County Fulton County, IL
The radar
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 82 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:05 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, 3:31 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 8 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 10.1 hours before the alert went out and 141 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 Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 17, 1:38 PM CDT, 3 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 17, 1:38 PM CDT, 3 hours 25 minutes before
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</html>Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 17, 3:07 PM CDT, 1 hour 56 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lincoln IL 307 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>045-047>054-061-181200- Knox-Stark-Peoria-Marshall-Woodford-Fulton-Tazewell-McLean-Schuyler- Mason-Logan-De Witt-Piatt-Champaign-Cass-Menard-Scott-Morgan- Sangamon-Christian-Macon-Moultrie-Shelby- 307 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois, east central Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Isolated thunderstorms are possible by mid to late afternoon and will be capable of producing damaging wind gusts up to 70 mph, large hail, and possibly a strong tornado. A line of thunderstorms will move across the area this evening and tonight. Damaging wind gusts over 75 mph will be the primary hazard, but an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out. Locally heavy rain is also possible. Minor flooding is ongoing or occurring along the Illinois River from Henry downstream. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. Much colder air will bring the potential for patchy frost Saturday night and Sunday night. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will likely be needed between 3 and 10 pm. Expected storm motion is toward the east-northeast around 45 to 50 mph. ILZ046-055>057-062-063-066>068-071>073-181200- Vermilion-Douglas-Coles-Edgar-Cumberland-Clark-Effingham-Jasper- Crawford-Clay-Richland-Lawrence- 307 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for east central Illinois and southeast Illinois. .DAY ONE...Tonight. A line of thunderstorms will move across the area this evening and tonight. Damaging wind gusts of 70 to 75 mph will be the primary hazard, but an isolated tornado cannot be ruled out. Locally heavy rain is also possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. Much colder air will bring the potential for patchy frost Saturday night and Sunday night, especially north of I-70. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will likely be needed between 8 pm and 1 am. Expected storm motion is toward the east-northeast around 45 to 50 mph. Auten
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Apr 17, 3:28 PM CDT, 1 hour 35 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Apr 17, 4:57 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Apr 17, 4:59 PM CDT, 4 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Apr 17, 5:00 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Apr 17, 5:02 PM CDT, 1 minute before
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</html>The office that day
Everything else NWS Lincoln, IL issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 1:04 PM CDT | Flood Watch | ILX | Cass, Champaign, Christian, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas and 21 more | 15 hr |
| Apr 17, 4:11 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Cass, Morgan, Scott | 34 min |
| Apr 17, 4:45 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Cass, Mason, Morgan, Schuyler | 45 min |
| Apr 17, 5:30 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Fulton, Knox, Peoria | 45 min |
| Apr 17, 5:58 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Knox, Peoria, Stark | 47 min |
| Apr 17, 6:38 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Knox | 37 min |
| Apr 17, 6:47 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | ILX | Knox | 43 min |
| Apr 17, 6:53 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ILX | Schuyler | 52 min |
Nearby
Severe 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.