A cold front interacting with an unseasonably warm early January airmass with temperatures in the lower to middle 60s triggered a couple lines of strong to severe thunderstorms during the evening of January 8th. A few of the storms produced minor wind damage in Tazewell County and toppled two semis further east in Champaign County.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS ILX wrote it up.
A cold front interacting with an unseasonably warm early January airmass with temperatures in the lower to middle 60s triggered a couple lines of strong to severe thunderstorms during the evening of January 8th. A few of the storms produced minor wind damage in Tazewell County and toppled two semis further east in Champaign County.
The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Jan 8, 5:01 PM CST, 1 hour 16 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Lincoln IL 501 PM CST Thu Jan 8 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Periods of heavy rain are expected with thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. The risk for excessive rainfall is Marginal east of the Illinois River. However, given the dry drought conditions, expect impacts from periods of heavy rain to be minimal. - There is a level 1 of 5 (Marginal) risk for damaging winds (60-70 mph) with showers and storms this evening, along with a low (2%) risk for a tornado. Timing would be 4-7pm west of I-55 and 7pm-midnight east of I-55. - Outside of storms, south winds gusting 35-45 mph could make travel difficult for high profile vehicles on east-west oriented roads this evening, especially east of I-55. Expect the higher winds to be associated with showers/thunderstorms. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 145 PM CST Thu Jan 8 2026 Central Illinois finds itself in southwest flow aloft this afternoon, with precipitable water values over 1" pushing into the region. The 994 mb surface low is centered over northeast KS and is expected to drift northeast across northern MO and into eastern IA by this evening. Anomalously high precipitable water values will exist across the area for the month of January this afternoon and evening. The first rainband has moved through the region already, with more on the way. Expect thunderstorms to develop this afternoon across the area as well, with some storms possibly severe. Damaging winds and perhaps an isolated tornado or two are the primary concerns with any thunderstorms today. Given the strong winds in the low levels, it won't take much to bring wind gusts of 45-60 mph down to the surface. CAPE looks to be weak at around 400-800 J/kg but with strong 0-6km shear of 60-70kts. The cold front will push through the area between midnight and 6 am tomorrow. Lows will occur in the mid to late morning hours with not much recovery during the day. Expect highs in the upper 40s NW to near 60 SE on Friday. A second system will dive southeast and merge with a southwestern wave over the Midwest. We'll see an chance for rain or snow Friday night and Saturday with these merging systems. However, not much accumulation is expected at this time. Still, cold air will continue to pour in from the northwest, bringing highs down to the low 30s for Sunday. Another northwesterly wave will affect the region on Tuesday and Tuesday night with primarily rain expected. However, chances for snow are not far away with the 0 degree isotherm close by and moving into the area. After a brief warm up Monday and Tuesday, expect a sharp drop back to the 30s for Wed/Thu. Knutsvig && .AVIATION... (For the 00z TAFs through 00z Friday Evening) Issued at 500 PM CST Thu Jan 8 2026 A deep low over NW MO early this evening will lift to central Lake Michigan overnight. Ahead of the low, a 50-60 kt low level jet is driving areas of showers and a few embedded thunderstorms along with low level wind shear. Some of these showers could mix down strong winds aloft, especially within a narrow line of more intense convection that moves across central Illinois this evening. Behind the line of convection, winds will veer to the west then northwest. IFR conditions are in place area-wide out the gate, but a brief window of VFR conditions is possible behind the line of convection as a mid level dry slot punches across central Illinois. This window will only last a few hours before widespread MVFR/near IFR ceilings overspread central Illinois through the remainder of the night and much of the day Friday. Deubelbeiss && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lincoln IL 210 PM CST Thu Jan 8 2026 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-092015- Knox-Stark-Peoria-Marshall-Woodford-Fulton-Tazewell-McLean-Schuyler- Mason-Logan-De Witt-Piatt-Champaign-Vermilion-Cass-Menard-Scott- Morgan-Sangamon-Christian-Macon-Moultrie-Douglas-Coles-Edgar-Shelby- Cumberland-Clark-Effingham-Jasper-Crawford-Clay-Richland-Lawrence- 210 PM CST Thu Jan 8 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois, east central Illinois, southeast Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...Tonight. There is a level 1 of 5 (marginal) risk for severe weather with a line of showers and thunderstorms this evening. The main hazard is locally damaging wind gusts, but there is also a low (2%) tornado risk near and east of I-55. Southwest winds will gust 35 to 45 mph this evening into early Friday morning, which could cause difficult driving conditions for high profile vehicles. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed this evening. Expected storm motion is toward the northeast around 55 mph. 25
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:17 UTC.
9 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Power lines were blown across the road near the intersection of Springfield Road and Par 3 Lane.
A light pole was blown down.
Power lines were blown into tree branches.
A power pole was snapped near the intersection of Concord Road and Hinman Road.
A power pole was blown down.
Four power poles were snapped along Stringtown Road just southwest of Minier.
A tree was blown onto power lines near the intersection of North Minier Avenue and East Olive Street.
A semi was blown over on I-72 near Bondville.
A semi was blown over on I-57 near Pesotum.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, January 2026
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1306652, 1306653, 1306651, 1306650, 1306649, 1306646, 1306647, 1306655, 1306654.