Alert archive / Illinois / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 48, NWS St. Louis, MO

April 15, 20264 counties in Illinois

NWS St. Louis, MO issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 15, 2026, 11:18 PM CDT for 4 counties in Illinois. It was in force for 22 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 15, 2026, 11:18 PM CDT (04:18 UTC)
Expired
Apr 15, 2026, 11:40 PM CDT
In force
22 min
Issued by
NWS St. Louis, MO
Area
Storm-based polygon
Tornado
Possible
Hail
0.0 in
Wind
60.0 mph

Counties Bond County, IL, Clinton County, IL, Fayette County, IL, Marion County, IL

The radar

The Evansville,IN radar (KVWX), 137 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 04:17 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 nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 00:00Z, 4.3 hours before the alert went out and 148 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 00:00Z on 2026-04-16Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 266 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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 00:00Z on 2026-04-16The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 278 square meters per square second.1939587897117Sfc1 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
266 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-46 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
964 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
60 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
278 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
257 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
5.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

464 
WUUS53 KLSX 160418
SVRLSX
ILC005-027-051-121-160515-
/O.NEW.KLSX.SV.W.0048.260416T0418Z-260416T0515Z/

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
National Weather Service St Louis MO
1118 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

The National Weather Service in St Louis has issued a

* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for...
  Southeastern Bond County in south central Illinois...
  Northeastern Clinton County in south central Illinois...
  Fayette County in south central Illinois...
  Northern Marion County in south central Illinois...

* Until 1215 AM CDT.

* At 1118 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Beaver
  Creek, or 8 miles south of Greenville, moving east at 45 mph.

  HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts.

  SOURCE...Radar indicated.

  IMPACT...Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees.

* Locations impacted include...
  Beaver Creek, Greenville, Tamalco, Woburn, Pleasant Mound, Boulder,
  Mulberry Grove, Pittsburg, Patoka, Shobonier, Vandalia, Brownstown,
  Kinmundy, Avena, Stephen Forbes Station, Farina, St. Elmo, Wrights
  Corner and La Clede.

This includes the following State Parks...
Carlyle Lake Recreational Area.

This includes the following highways...
Interstate 70 in Illinois between exits 41 and 76. Interstate 57 in
Illinois between exits 127 and 135.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

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

&&

LAT...LON 3874 8950 3889 8955 3915 8882 3913 8881
      3891 8881 3891 8869 3873 8870 3867 8947
TIME...MOT...LOC 0418Z 254DEG 37KT 3877 8940

TORNADO...POSSIBLE
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH

$$

Kimble
2 follow-up statements
774 
WWUS53 KLSX 160430
SVSLSX

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service St Louis MO
1130 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

ILC005-027-160440-
/O.CAN.KLSX.SV.W.0048.000000T0000Z-260416T0515Z/
Bond IL-Clinton IL-
1130 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR SOUTHEASTERN BOND AND
NORTHEASTERN CLINTON COUNTIES...

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

&&

LAT...LON 3896 8926 3915 8882 3913 8881 3891 8881
      3891 8869 3880 8870 3873 8870 3874 8918
      3874 8925
TIME...MOT...LOC 0418Z 254DEG 37KT 3877 8939

$$


ILC051-121-160515-
/O.CON.KLSX.SV.W.0048.000000T0000Z-260416T0515Z/
Fayette IL-Marion IL-
1130 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1215 AM CDT
FOR FAYETTE AND NORTHERN MARION COUNTIES IN SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...

At 1130 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located 5 miles northeast
of Tamalco, or 11 miles southeast of Greenville, moving east at 45
mph.

HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Expect damage to roofs, siding, and trees.

Locations impacted include...
  Pittsburg, Hagerstown, Vernon, Patoka, Shobonier, Vandalia, St.
  Paul, Brownstown, Kinmundy, Avena, St. Peter, Loogootee, St. James,
  Farina, St. Elmo and La Clede.

This includes the following highways...
Interstate 70 in Illinois between exits 61 and 76. Interstate 57 in
Illinois between exits 127 and 135.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

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

&&

LAT...LON 3896 8926 3915 8882 3913 8881 3891 8881
      3891 8869 3880 8870 3873 8870 3874 8918
      3874 8925
TIME...MOT...LOC 0418Z 252DEG 39KT 3878 8938

HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH

$$

Kimble
140 
WWUS53 KLSX 160440
SVSLSX

Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service St Louis MO
1140 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

ILC051-121-160450-
/O.CAN.KLSX.SV.W.0048.000000T0000Z-260416T0515Z/
Fayette IL-Marion IL-
1140 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR FAYETTE AND NORTHERN
MARION COUNTIES IN SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...

The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe
limits, and no longer poses an immediate threat to life or property.
Therefore, the warning has been cancelled. However, gusty winds are
still possible with this thunderstorm.

&&

LAT...LON 3896 8926 3915 8882 3913 8881 3891 8881
      3891 8869 3880 8870 3873 8870 3874 8918
      3874 8925
TIME...MOT...LOC 0430Z 252DEG 39KT 3882 8921

$$

Kimble

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 15, 7:03 PM CDT, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Showers and thunderstorms are expected through tonight, with a threat of strong to severe thunderstorms capable mainly of damaging winds and large hail through 11pm.
  • Showers and thunderstorms, some strong to severe, are expected again on Friday.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 15, 7:03 PM CDT, 4 hours 15 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation
National Weather Service Saint Louis MO
703 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Showers and thunderstorms are expected through tonight, with a threat
  of strong to severe thunderstorms capable mainly of damaging
  winds and large hail through 11pm.

- Showers and thunderstorms, some strong to severe, are expected
  again on Friday.

&&

.SHORT TERM... (Through Late Friday Night)
Issued at 159 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

A series of shortwaves can be seen across the Great Plains in water
vapor imagery, with southwesterly flow across the Middle Mississippi
Valley ahead of these waves. An elongated fetch of warm, moist air
is feeding into the region from the Gulf, aiding in forcing
scattered showers and thunderstorms now across southeastern Missouri
and southwestern Illinois. Model and ACARS soundings out of KSTL
suggest that this convection is elevated above an inversion at 800-
850 mb. Associated convective debris has been inhibiting surface
heating so far, causing a dearth of instability along and south of
the MO I-44/IL I-55 corridor this afternoon. Westward across western
Missouri, insolation and mid-60s to low 70s dewpoints have yielded
upwards of 2000 J/kg of MLCAPE per recent SPC mesoanalysis. Here, an
extensive area of cumulus can be seen in visible satellite imagery.

Subtle leading waves within the southwesterly flow and an area of
lift via jet dynamics will produce nebulous lift across portions of
central and northeastern Missouri, as well as west-central Illinois
through this afternoon into this evening. If enough surface heating
is realized, then the cap will break, allowing for scattered showers
and thunderstorms among the aforementioned instability and about 50
kts of effective shear. This is an environment favorable for
organized updrafts, with some supercell structures possible. A
limiting factor for robust supercells is slight veer-back-veer
vertical wind profiles and/or weak low to mid-level flow noted in
ACARS soundings and the KLSX VWP. A mostly straight hodograph with
these attributes will lead to both left and right-moving updrafts
that will tend to be shorter-lived as they interact and grow into
localized clusters. If this round materializes, large hail and
damaging wind gusts will be the primary threats, though about 20 kts
of 0-1km shear and 200m2/s2 of low-level SRH means that there is a
low chance for brief tornadoes.

A solution that CAMs are increasingly supporting is that convection
this afternoon and early evening remains mostly subdued, allowing
for the atmosphere to remain undisturbed ahead of a cold front
moving into the region this evening and the early overnight hours.
Then, lift from the shortwave and upper-level jet will be greater,
pairing with the cold front to force numerous updrafts along and
immediately ahead of the front as it moves eastward. Initially, both
the vertical wind and thermal profile will be similar as this
afternoon, leading to discrete supercells. Confidence is high that
these discrete storms will form west of the CWA, growing upscale
into clusters and line segments as they interact with each other and
the front thanks to deep layer shear vectors parallel to the
boundary. These interactions and waning instability after sunset
will lead to a weakening trend as the line segments move into the
CWA. The primary threat with this round will be damaging wind gusts,
with line segments surging northeastward carrying a tornado threat
thanks to 30-40kts of 0-3km shear vectors oriented southwest to
northeast.

Once the convection and associated stratiform rain clears the CWA
during the early morning hours, mainly dry conditions are expected
through early Friday. Though, there is a low chance for convection
across southeastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois tomorrow
afternoon.

Our attention then turns to Friday as a highly-amplified trough
ejects out into the Plains and sends a cold front into the Midwest.
Ahead of this front, ensemble clusters have a median value of 2,000
J/kg of SBCAPE, with deterministic models showing as much as 3-4,000
J/kg. Deep layer shear is progged to be 45-50 kts, creating a
environment conducive for strong to severe thunderstorms across much
of the Midwest. Given the lead time and forecast load prior to then,
further details on thunderstorm threats, timing, and placement for
Friday will wait until later updates.

Elmore

&&

.LONG TERM... (Saturday through Next Wednesday)
Issued at 159 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

At daybreak Saturday morning, guidance consensus is that Friday's
front will be deep into the Ohio Valley and clear of the CWA as the
axis of the upper-level trough pivots eastward toward the Middle
Mississippi Valley. With the core of this trough and the track of
the associated surface low being well north-northeast of the region,
the CWA will miss out on the core of the post-frontal airmass.
Still, increasingly deep northwesterly flow will push cooler air
into the CWA, pushing Saturday and Sunday's temperatures to at and
just below climatological normals.

The trough will quickly shift eastward early next week, allowing for
low to mid-level ridging to build and southwesterly flow to return
across the region. This favors warming temperatures, with ensembles
clustering around seasonal normals starting Monday and then above
normal by mid-week.

Elmore

&&

.AVIATION...  (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Thursday Evening)
Issued at 702 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

A cold front is moving eastward, entering western MO, with a south-
southwest to north-northeast oriented broken line of strong to
severe storms along and ahead of the approaching boundary. These
storms are forecast to near the central Missouri terminals at the
start of the TAF, followed by KUIN and then the STL metro terminals
later this evening/early tonight. Any thunderstorms that directly
impacts terminals will be capable of IFR visibilities, gusty and
variable winds, along with heavy rain and frequent lightning.
Scattered showers may linger behind convection with conditions
expected to improve by late tonight for all terminals. Surface winds
veer southwesterly behind the front overnight becoming increasingly
southerly by Thursday afternoon.

Peine

&&

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

WFO LSX
Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 15, 2:05 PM CDT, 9 hours 13 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service St Louis MO
205 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

ILZ058>060-064-065-069-070-074-079-095>102-MOZ018-019-026-027-
034>036-041-042-047>052-059>065-072>075-084-085-099-161915-
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-
205 PM CDT Wed Apr 15 2026

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

.DAY ONE...Tonight.

Thunderstorms are expected this evening and tonight. Storms this
evening will be capable of scattered instances of damaging winds and
large hail.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday.

Thunderstorms are forecast Friday and Friday night. Storms will be
capable of becoming strong to severe.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

Elmore

The office that day

Everything else NWS St. Louis, MO issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 15, 10:15 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSXMonroe, Saint Clair21 min
Apr 16, 11:54 AM CDTRiver Flood WarningLSXCalhoun, Greene, Jersey21 days

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.