Alert archive / Illinois / River Flood Warnings in 2026

River Flood Warning 19, NWS St. Louis, MO

April 4, 2026Fayette County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this river flood warning at Apr 4, 2026, 7:26 PM CDT for Fayette County, Illinois. It took effect at Apr 5, 2026, 2:05 PM CDT. It was in force for .

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 4, 2026, 7:26 PM CDT (00:26 UTC)
In effect from
Apr 5, 2026, 2:05 PM CDT
Expired
Apr 5, 2026, 11:25 AM CDT
In force
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
Minor

County Fayette County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 136 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:28 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 river

Written for the forecast point Kaskaskia River at Vandalia (VNDI2).

Action stage
16 ft
Minor stage
18 ft
Moderate stage
24 ft
Major stage
26 ft

This gauge today: stage, forecast and historic crests

Stage from the USGS instantaneous record for site 05592500, one reading an hour, from a day before the product to a day after it ended. Flood stages are today's.

The text

As transmitted.

546 
WGUS43 KLSX 050026
FLWLSX

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Flood Warning
National Weather Service St Louis MO
726 PM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026

...The National Weather Service in St Louis has issued a Flood
Warning for the following rivers in Illinois...

  Kaskaskia River at Vandalia.

River forecasts are based on observed precipitation and forecast
precipitation for the next 24 hours.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

Rainfall heavier than forecast could cause river levels to rise even
higher than predicted. The National Weather Service will monitor this
developing situation and issue follow up statements as conditions
change.

This product, along with additional weather and stream information,
is available at https://water.noaa.gov/wfo/lsx

&&

ILC051-061230-
/O.NEW.KLSX.FL.W.0019.260405T1905Z-260408T1600Z/
/VNDI2.1.ER.260405T1905Z.260406T1200Z.260407T0951Z.NO/
726 PM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026

...FLOOD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON TO WEDNESDAY
MORNING...

* WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast.

* WHERE...Kaskaskia River at Vandalia.

* WHEN...From Sunday afternoon to Wednesday morning.

* IMPACTS...At 23.0 feet, Agricultural levee begins to be slightly
  overtopped.  No residences are affected at this level.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
  - At 7:00 PM CDT Saturday the stage was 14.1 feet.
  - Forecast...The river is expected to rise above flood stage early
    tomorrow afternoon to a crest of 21.4 feet Monday morning. It
    will then fall below flood stage early Tuesday morning.
  - Flood stage is 18.0 feet.



&&


All Times CDT  Fld   Observed  Forecasts (7:00 am)
Location       Stg     Stage   Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu   Fri

Kaskaskia River
 Vandalia      18.0    14.1    21.4  17.5  12.5  10.8  10.1



&&

LAT...LON 3903 8910 3903 8906 3889 8908 3881 8916
      3883 8922


$$

Carney
1 follow-up statement
497 
WGUS83 KLSX 051625
FLSLSX

Flood Statement
National Weather Service St Louis MO
1125 AM CDT Sun Apr 5 2026

...The Flood Warning is cancelled for the following rivers in
Illinois...

  Kaskaskia River at Vandalia.

River forecasts are based on observed precipitation and forecast
precipitation for the next 24 hours.

ILC051-051730-
/O.CAN.KLSX.FL.W.0019.260405T1905Z-260405T1625Z/
/VNDI2.1.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.NO/
1125 AM CDT Sun Apr 5 2026

...FLOOD WARNING IS CANCELLED...

The Flood Warning is cancelled for
  the Kaskaskia River at Vandalia.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
  - At 11:00 AM CDT Sunday the stage was 15.8 feet.
  - Forecast...The river will rise to 16.0 feet this afternoon. It
    will then fall to 15.9 feet this evening. It will rise to 17.2
    feet early tomorrow afternoon. It will then fall again and remain
    below flood stage.



&&


All Times CDT  Fld   Observed  Forecasts (7:00 am)
Location       Stg     Stage   Mon   Tue   Wed   Thu   Fri

Kaskaskia River
 Vandalia      18.0    15.8    16.8  14.4  11.7  11.1  10.9



&&

LAT...LON 3903 8910 3903 8906 3889 8908 3881 8916
      3883 8922


$$

Maples

What forecasters said that day

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

NWS St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before this river flood warning went out at Apr 4, 6:20 PM CDT, 1 hour 6 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Cooler than normal temperatures will persist through Tuesday. Frost/freeze conditions are possible Tuesday morning (30-60%) over northeast Missouri and west-central Illinois.
  • Temperatures warm above normal Wednesday onward with increasing chances for showers and thunderstorms late in the week.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 4, 6:20 PM CDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation
National Weather Service Saint Louis MO
620 PM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Cooler than normal temperatures will persist through Tuesday.
  Frost/freeze conditions are possible Tuesday morning (30-60%)
  over northeast Missouri and west-central Illinois.

- Temperatures warm above normal Wednesday onward with increasing
  chances for showers and thunderstorms late in the week.

&&

.SHORT TERM...  (Through Late Sunday Night)
Issued at 150 PM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026

A cold front continues to slide to the east-southeast this afternoon
with much cooler temperatures being accompanied by drying trends.
Conditions are improving, but the process is gradual. Skies break a
little too late in the day to have much of an impact, resulting in
steady temperatures in the 50s through early this evening. Dry,
northwesterly flow will aid in clearing from west to east tonight,
allowing temperatures to fall into the 30s. These temperatures might
initially bring concerns for frost with a couple of limiting factors
that should mitigate this potential. Locations along and southeast
of I-44/I-70 in Missouri/Illinois, respectively, remain in the upper
30s to near 40F. Cooler locations to the north will largely be in
the mid-30s with a few low-30s over the far northeast stretch
Missouri. Despite the cooler readings, sustained winds >5 knots
should keep frost from developing.

High pressure continues to work across the region with mostly clear
skies Sunday through Sunday night. The mid-level air mass that
briefly visits the area through the first half of the day falls in
the 20-25th percentile of climatological averages. This favors a
seasonably cool setup through Sunday with modest warming.
Considering recent rainfall has left behind moist surfaces, and
northwest flow persists, highs will capped at the mid-50s to low-
60s. Winds lighten Sunday night as the surface high centers over
northwest Arkansas with west-southwest surface flow. This subtle
shift will be just enough for a slightly warmer Monday morning.
Morning lows range from the upper 30s to low-40s.

Maples

&&

.LONG TERM...  (Monday through Next Saturday)
Issued at 150 PM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026

An anomalously strong, 1040mb surface high (99th percentile) is
expected to build southeast out of the south-central Canadian
Provinces into the north-central CONUS Monday, pushing a reinforcing
cold front through the region early Monday morning. Northwesterly
flow persists in the upper levels thanks to longwave troughing over
the New England Region and ridging over the Intermountain West. The
setup supports seasonably cool temperatures as cold air advection
stalls, bisecting Missouri and Illinois. The front doesn't have much
and impact along and south of I-70, where highs will be similar to
Sunday's temperatures. Along and north of Hwy 36/I-72, advection
will be strong enough to cool temperature enough so that highs only
make it into the low-50s.

The aforementioned boundary remains nearly stationary through the
region Monday night as mean SLP plots show the surface high crossing
southern Wisconsin. Guidance has shown a narrow band of forcing and
light QPF extending from northwest Missouri through central
Missouri. NAM sounding show saturation roughly between 850-500 mb
with surface dewpoint depressions of 5-10 degrees. LREF ensembles
indicate a 50% probability of measurable precipitation around Troy,
MO, increasing to around 80% between Chillicothe and Kirksville.
Probabilities drop significantly at or above 0.05". Considering the
cooler airmass, nocturnal timing, lift in the DGZ, and sounding at
or below freezing just off the surface, light rain/snow main
transition to snow as the primary precipitation type early Monday
morning. NBM guidance makes this look less impressive with few
northwestern counties (Monroe, Shelby, and Knox), but it may be
something to keep an eye on with better support for minor
accumulations just north/west of the CWA.

Guidance continues to trend cooler and in favor of near-freezing
temperatures by Tuesday morning. LREF probabilities for <32F climb
from 30% around Hwy 36/I-72 to around 60% near the MO/IA border.
While this is the case, sustained winds of 5-10 mph should couple
with cloud cover to prevent much in the way of frost. Should
temperature trends continue to cool, however, freeze products may be
the best approach here. We continue to monitor this potential for
agricultural interests. Tuesday will be the last cool day, and
probably the coolest, as the surface high slides across the southern
Great Lakes. Highs in the 40s and 50s will make for a chilly day
under partly to mostly cloud skies.

A big transition is in store Tuesday night into Wednesday with winds
veering out of the south/southwest. NBM IQR is unusually tight
(<10F) for this distance in time, providing higher confidence than
normal. Mean upper heights show the New England Region trough
quickly exiting east, while the western ridge begins to break down.
Zonal flow draws warmer air eastward from the Plains with mid-level
temperatures warming around 10C for Wednesday. This marks the start
of a milder period through the end of the week with NBM IQRs
remaining relatively flat with highs largely in the 70s.

Dry conditions that extend through Thursday will be impeded by
increasing rain chances late in the week. A broad ridge over the mid-
Atlantic begins to shift slightly eastward with southwesterly flow
drawing moisture northward as several disturbances eject from a
cutoff low over the southwest CONUS. This sets up at the back side
of the ridge with pattern that may become conducive for multiple
waves from showers and thunderstorms late Friday into next weekend.
Global guidance is currently in disagreement on QPF totals, but this
isn't all that surprising with lower resolution unable to resolve
some of the mesoscale details.

Maples

&&

.AVIATION...  (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Sunday Evening)
Issued at 600 PM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026

Mainly dry and VFR conditions are expected through the period.
West to northwesterly winds will decrease between 01-03Z and lose
their gusts, with winds mainly around 10 knots the rest of the
period.

Britt

&&

.LSX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
MO...None.
IL...None.
&&

WFO LSX
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 4, 2:03 PM CDT, 5 hours 23 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service St Louis MO
203 PM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026

ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027-
034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-051915-
Greene IL-Macoupin IL-Montgomery IL-Bond IL-Fayette IL-Clinton IL-
Marion IL-Washington IL-Randolph IL-Adams IL-Brown IL-Pike IL-
Calhoun IL-Jersey IL-Madison IL-Saint Clair IL-Monroe IL-Knox MO-
Lewis MO-Shelby MO-Marion MO-Monroe MO-Ralls MO-Pike MO-Boone MO-
Audrain MO-Moniteau MO-Cole MO-Osage MO-Callaway MO-Montgomery MO-
Lincoln MO-Gasconade MO-Warren MO-Saint Charles MO-Franklin MO-
Saint Louis MO-Saint Louis City MO-Jefferson MO-Crawford MO-
Washington MO-Saint Francois MO-Sainte Genevieve MO-Iron MO-
Madison MO-Reynolds MO-
203 PM CDT Sat Apr 4 2026

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of eastern and
central Missouri as well as west central and southwest Illinois.

.DAY ONE...Tonight.

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday.

There is a chance of thunderstorms over parts of the area
Thursday through Friday.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

Maples

Nearby

River Flood Warnings in Illinois, 2026Every river 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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive; the gauge from the NWS water service and the USGS.