Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 40, NWS St. Louis, MO

April 3, 2026Brown County, Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 3, 2026, 5:15 PM CDT for Brown County, Illinois. It was in force for 25 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued
Apr 3, 2026, 5:15 PM CDT (22:15 UTC)
Expired
Apr 3, 2026, 5:40 PM CDT
In force
25 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Storm-based polygon
Tornado
Possible
Hail
1.0 in
Wind
60.0 mph

County Brown County, IL

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 107 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:19 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.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
Apr 3, 2:20 PM CDTTornado WatchSPC6 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 169 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-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2026-04-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2026-04-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 172 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
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
1023 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
172 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
229 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

003 
WUUS53 KLSX 032215
SVRLSX
ILC009-032300-
/O.NEW.KLSX.SV.W.0040.260403T2215Z-260403T2300Z/

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
National Weather Service St Louis MO
515 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026

The National Weather Service in St Louis has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for...
  Southeastern Brown County in west central Illinois...

* Until 600 PM CDT.

* At 515 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 10 miles southeast
  of Mount Sterling, or 19 miles northeast of Pittsfield, moving
  northeast at 30 mph.

  HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail.

  SOURCE...Radar indicated.

  IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to
           roofs, siding, and trees.

* Locations impacted include...
  Versailles, Coopertown and La Grange.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Seek shelter inside a well-built structure and stay away from
windows. This storm is capable of producing damaging winds and large
hail.

Tornadoes can develop quickly from severe thunderstorms. Seek shelter
immediately in an interior room on the lowest floor of a well-built
structure.

A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM CDT Friday for a
portion of west central Illinois.

&&

LAT...LON 4002 9061 4000 9060 3998 9061 3998 9053
      3999 9053 3999 9052 3998 9051 3997 9051
      3995 9053 3991 9054 3990 9056 3987 9059
      3984 9057 3984 9076
TIME...MOT...LOC 2215Z 228DEG 24KT 3987 9066

TORNADO...POSSIBLE
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH

$$

Carney
2 follow-up statements
680 
WWUS53 KLSX 032228
SVSLSX

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service St Louis MO
528 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026

ILC009-032300-
/O.CON.KLSX.SV.W.0040.000000T0000Z-260403T2300Z/
Brown IL-
528 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CDT FOR
SOUTHEASTERN BROWN COUNTY...

At 528 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 11 miles east of
Mount Sterling, or 25 miles northeast of Pittsfield, moving northeast
at 25 mph.

HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to
         roofs, siding, and trees.

Locations impacted include...
  Coopertown and La Grange.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Seek shelter inside a well-built structure and stay away from
windows. This storm is capable of producing damaging winds and large
hail.

Tornadoes can develop quickly from severe thunderstorms. Seek shelter
immediately in an interior room on the lowest floor of a well-built
structure.

A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM CDT Friday for a
portion of west central Illinois.

&&

LAT...LON 3990 9067 3998 9061 3998 9052 3999 9053
      3999 9052 3998 9051 3997 9051 3995 9053
      3993 9054 3992 9054 3990 9055 3989 9057
      3987 9059
TIME...MOT...LOC 2215Z 227DEG 23KT 3987 9066

TORNADO...POSSIBLE
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH

$$

Carney
992 
WWUS53 KLSX 032240
SVSLSX

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service St Louis MO
540 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026

ILC009-032250-
/O.CAN.KLSX.SV.W.0040.000000T0000Z-260403T2300Z/
Brown IL-
540 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR SOUTHEASTERN BROWN
COUNTY...

The storm which prompted the warning has moved out of the area.
Therefore, the warning has been cancelled.

A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM CDT Friday for a
portion of west central Illinois.

&&

LAT...LON 3990 9067 3998 9061 3998 9052 3999 9053
      3999 9052 3998 9051 3997 9051 3995 9053
      3993 9054 3992 9054 3990 9055 3989 9057
      3987 9059
TIME...MOT...LOC 2228Z 227DEG 23KT 3993 9058

$$

Carney

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 St. Louis, MO wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 3, 2:58 PM CDT, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Scattered showers and thunderstorms will become more numerous late this evening and tonight. A few may be severe. All hazards are possible this afternoon into early evening, transitioning primarily to damaging winds and an isolated tornado late this evening.
  • Cooler temperatures (5-15 degrees below average) are forecast late Saturday lasting into Tuesday with a 30-50% for a freeze Monday night north of the I-70 corridor.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 3, 2:58 PM CDT, 2 hours 17 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Saint Louis MO
258 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Scattered showers and thunderstorms will become more numerous
  late this evening and tonight. A few may be severe. All hazards
  are possible this afternoon into early evening, transitioning
  primarily to damaging winds and an isolated tornado late this
  evening.

- Cooler temperatures (5-15 degrees below average) are forecast
  late Saturday lasting into Tuesday with a 30-50% for a freeze
  Monday night north of the I-70 corridor.

&&

.SHORT TERM...  (Through Late Saturday Night)
Issued at 223 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026

A closed upper low and longwave trough will progress almost due east
across South Dakota this afternoon. Upper diffluence ahead of the
longwave trough is expected to draw a surface low east-northeast out
of eastern Kansas/Nebraska into southern Iowa through late tonight.
In the process, a warm front that extended east along I-70 this
morning, has lifted into northern Missouri/west-central Illinois.

The warm front has shifted north of I-70 fairly quickly this morning
with slower progress this afternoon. Along as south of the front,
boundary layer moisture has deepened within strong south-
southwesterly flow. While CAMs have become excited about development
in the warm sector, forcing is largely focused along the warm front
to the north and the cold front to the west with limited support
south of the front. Therefore, initial concern will be development
along over far northeast Missouri and west-central Illinois, where
RAP guidance builds MUCAPE to 2500-3000 J/kg, winds are backed at
the surface with 0-6km shear of 40-45kts, and increasing SRH values
of 100-250 m2/s2. The caveat - Higher SRH is focused along and north
of the MO/IA border with marginal mid-level lapse rates of 6.5-7C.
RAP soundings has also narrow CAPE profiles through the hail growth
zone over the last few hours. Should an updraft become sustained, it
will be capable of producing marginally severe hail (1") and a brief
tornado, mainly over the northern two rows of counties of the CWA
(NE MO/WC IL) as early as 20Z through 22z. Further into the warm
sector, the lack of forcing, unidirectional flow, and recent height
rises limit potential, but an isolated thunderstorm cannot be
entirely ruled out. Hail is favored hazard within the warm sector
this afternoon, but chances are quite limited.

The main impacts will arrive this evening and overnight with the
approach a cold front from the central Plains. This remains the main
focus, but not without caveats here, too. As the surface low lifts
into Iowa, upper ascent and lift from the surface low remains rather
far departed from the region. Additionally, a pre-frontal trough
attempts to ignite scattered convection ahead of the boundary as
the primary severe threat remains well to the west. Strong to severe
thunderstorm development is largely concentrated over the east
Plains into western Missouri, then into central Missouri well after
peak diurnal heating. Timing with this front has been pretty
consistent, reaching western parts of the CWA around 04-05Z. One
question is how much development occurs with the pre-frontal trough,
helping to stabilize some areas ahead of the front. This doesn't
bode well for a nocturnal front that is well departed from its
parent low. Additionally, instability and mid-lapse rates quickly
weaken with the eastern progression of what looks to be a broken
line of convection remnant from severe thunderstorms initiating in
Kansas. Considering the timing and various caveats, confidence in the
severe threat quickly drops off from west to east, as updrafts begin
to compete, and cooler air undercuts ongoing convection.

In the grand scheme, while severe potential is there, it's largely
conditional on pre-frontal development and limited by nocturnal
timing. Thunderstorms may very well become more progressively cold
pool dominant as the cold front lags west of a majority of the
activity. Though severe gusts and a brief tornado cannot be ruled
out, threats will likely become limited with eastward movement
overnight.

Showers linger along the southeastern 1/3rd of the CWA Saturday
morning, but should clear the area by late morning/early afternoon.
Much of the day will be much cooler and drier with gradual clearing
through Saturday afternoon. Highs will range from the 50s northwest
of Washington/St. Louis, MO and Litchfield, IL, to the low to mid-
60s to the southeast.

Maples

&&

.LONG TERM...  (Sunday through Next Friday)
Issued at 256 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026

For the first half of the extended, the large scale pattern will be
mid/upper-level ridging across the Intermountain West with a
persistent longwave trough centered near the Great Lakes Region,
placing our region under deep northwesterly flow for the first time
in a while. Our early weekend system will be departing to the
northeast around the base of the trough leaving us in post-frontal
flow with a surface high dropping southeast across the Plains that
will help to reinforce the cooler conditions. The result for us will
be temperatures generally 5-15 degrees below average this weekend
into early Wednesday.

On Monday, an anomalously strong (99th percentile) surface high
slides southeast out of Canada into the Northern Plains. Out ahead
of the approaching high, a low/mid-level cold front will drop
southward into the area, bringing with it a shot of reinforcing cold
air. With remnant weak bands of low/mid-level frontogenesis possibly
lingering across northern Missouri, chances for precipitation creep
in late Monday into Tuesday. Current LREF probabilities for QPF
>0.01" max out around 30-40% across central/northern MO, where the
better mid-level forcing is expected to be. The anomalously strong
surface high is forecasted to be just north of the region Monday
night, reinforcing much colder air as LREF mean 850mb temperatures
will be near 20th percentiles across northern MO/west-central IL.
Long-range deterministic guidance reveals that mid/level saturation
may be collocated with the strongest forcing, with the most likely
limiting factor for precipitation reaching the ground being a lack
of low-level moisture and a dry near surface layer. Forecast model
soundings indicate a sub-freezing atmospheric profile across
northern MO/west-central IL late Monday into early Tuesday,
suggesting that there is some potential for some light snow. A
freeze is possible for some of the area Tuesday morning, but is
highly dependent on sky cover and surface winds overnight, where
calm and clearer conditions would allow for efficient radiational
cooling, increasing the potential for a freeze. Regardless, as it
stands now, the best chance for a freeze is north of I-70, with the
best chance across northern MO/west-central IL, where probabilities
are up to 50% for lows <32F Monday night.

As the surface high departs eastward by Wednesday, low/mid-level
flow turns southerly allowing temperatures to rebound quickly on
Wednesday with highs 10-20 degrees warmer than Tuesday areawide.
LREF temperature consensus is fairly good mid to late next week with
IQR's remaining around 6-10F centered near highs and lows that are
about 10 degrees above climatology. A mid-level shortwave trough
moves east along the US-Canadian border Thursday into Friday with
its surface reflection dropping a cold front near the area sometime
Thursday. With a potential boundary within close proximity to the
area once again, precipitation chances increase Thursday into next
weekend and is represented well by LREF probabilities for QPF >0.01"
slowly increasing to 40-50% by next Friday.

Peine/Maples

&&

.AVIATION...  (For the 18z TAFs through 18z Saturday Afternoon)
Issued at 1246 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026

Low pressure will lift northeast out of the eastern Plains into
the Upper Midwest this afternoon into tonight. A warm front is
lifting through northern Missouri, where a few thunderstorms are
possible, including KUIN (PROB30) through around sunset. Central
Missouri and metro terminals are into the warm sector, where winds
have shifted out of the south. Within the warm sector, an isolated
to widely scattered thunderstorm is possible. This potential was
not included at the metro terminals with better support remaining
to the west.

The greatest impacts will hold off until late this evening as the
cold front approaches central Missouri, then progresses east
through the metro terminals. Numerous to widespread showers and
thunderstorms are expected along the front with the potential for
a few strong to sever thunderstorms containing hail, gusty winds,
and a brief tornado. This potential is greatest over central
Missouri with waning intensity as thunderstorms move east. VFR
conditions sink to MVFR/IFR along and just behind the cold front
tonight. LIFR is likely to accompany the strongest thunderstorms
with heavy rain, low cigs, and restricted vsbys. Behind the front,
showers trail off with improving conditions through Saturday
morning. VFR is expect through much of Saturday.

Maples

&&

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

WFO LSX
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 3, 2:30 PM CDT, 2 hours 45 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service St Louis MO
230 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026

ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027-
034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-041930-
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-
230 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026

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

.DAY ONE...Tonight.

Thhunderstorms are expected late this evening and tonight.

Severe thunderstorms are possible tonight with damaging winds and
brief tornadoes. A lower threat of large hail and a brief tornado
also exists this afternoon.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday.

There is a chance of thunderstorms Saturday morning in southeastern
Missouri and southwestern Illinois.

There is a chance of thunderstorms Thursday.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

Maples

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.