Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 40, NWS St. Louis, MO
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.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 2:20 PM CDT | Tornado Watch | SPC | 6 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.
- 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
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
$$
Carney2 follow-up statements
680
WWUS53 KLSX 032228
SVSLSX
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service St Louis MO
528 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
ILC009-032300-
/O.CON.KLSX.SV.W.0040.000000T0000Z-260403T2300Z/
Brown IL-
528 PM CDT Fri Apr 3 2026
...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CDT FOR
SOUTHEASTERN BROWN COUNTY...
At 528 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 11 miles east of
Mount Sterling, or 25 miles northeast of Pittsfield, moving northeast
at 25 mph.
HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to
roofs, siding, and trees.
Locations impacted include...
Coopertown and La Grange.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Seek shelter inside a well-built structure and stay away from
windows. This storm is capable of producing damaging winds and large
hail.
Tornadoes can develop quickly from severe thunderstorms. Seek shelter
immediately in an interior room on the lowest floor of a well-built
structure.
A Tornado Watch remains in effect until 1000 PM CDT Friday for a
portion of west central Illinois.
&&
LAT...LON 3990 9067 3998 9061 3998 9052 3999 9053
3999 9052 3998 9051 3997 9051 3995 9053
3993 9054 3992 9054 3990 9055 3989 9057
3987 9059
TIME...MOT...LOC 2215Z 227DEG 23KT 3987 9066
TORNADO...POSSIBLE
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH
$$
Carney992
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
$$
CarneyWhat 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.