Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2026
EF1 tornado, Hooppole, Illinois, April 17, 2026
This EF1 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Henry County on April 17, 2026, touching down at 7:04 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.
Preliminary. This is NWS DVN's damage survey, filed in the Damage Assessment Toolkit as Northern Henry County Tornado. The rating, the path and the casualties are the survey's and can change while it is revised. The Storm Prediction Center compiles the official record of 2026 from these surveys and publishes it in the spring of 2027; this page moves to that tornado's permanent address when it does.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The survey
- Rating, as surveyed
- EF1, preliminary
- Date
- April 17, 2026
- Touchdown
- 7:04 PM CDT (00:04 UTC)
- Lifted
- 7:07 PM CDT (00:07 UTC)
- On the ground
- 3 minutes
- Path length
- 0.3 miles (0.4 km)
- Path width
- 50 yards (46 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Henry County
- Touchdown point
- 41.569, -90.052
- Lift-off point
- 41.572, -90.049
- Highest wind the damage implies
- 100 mph
- Surveyed by
- NWS DVN
- The office's name for it
- Northern Henry County Tornado
- Survey last edited
- April 21, 2026
- Record number
- None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.
What the survey found
A short lived EF1 tornado with estimated max winds around 100 impacted a farmstead in far northern Henry County Illinois, with max width around 50 yards. Damage was largely noted to a couple of farm outbuildings and some minor tree damage.
Written by NWS DVN in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.
What the Weather Service recorded
Numerous severe storms tracked across eastern IA, northwest IL, and northeast MO during the afternoon and evening of April 17. Widespread wind gusts between 60-80 mph (isolated 80-100 mph), large hail up to teacup size, and several tornadoes were reported. ||The most significant damage occurred in Lena, IL where many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees uprooted, and power lines downed by an EF2 tornado. Very strong straight-line winds also were documented in parts of the area.
A short lived EF1 tornado with estimated max winds around 100 impacted a farmstead in far northern Henry County Illinois, with max width around 50 yards. Damage was largely noted to a couple of farm outbuildings and some minor tree damage.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:53 UTC.
SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 17, 6:20 PM CDT, 44 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- A strong storm system will bring the threat for severe storms once again to our area through this evening. SPC continues to highlight nearly our entire area in an Enhanced Risk (level 3 of 5) for severe weather.
- A flood watch has been issued for much of the area through tonight for the potential of excessive rainfall with the final round of storms this afternoon/tonight. Soils across the area are saturated north of I-80 and very moist south of I-80.
- Much cooler conditions are expected this weekend. Unseasonably cool temperatures in the 30s Saturday night and Sunday night will bring the potential for frost/freeze, especially in our north.
- Area rivers are on the rise from the recent rounds of heavy rain, and heavy rainfall later today may push them even higher. Refer to the hydro section below for more details.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 17, 6:20 PM CDT, 44 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
620 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- A strong storm system will bring the threat for severe storms
once again to our area through this evening. SPC continues to
highlight nearly our entire area in an Enhanced Risk (level 3
of 5) for severe weather.
- A flood watch has been issued for much of the area through
tonight for the potential of excessive rainfall with the final
round of storms this afternoon/tonight. Soils across the area
are saturated north of I-80 and very moist south of I-80.
- Much cooler conditions are expected this weekend. Unseasonably cool
temperatures in the 30s Saturday night and Sunday night will
bring the potential for frost/freeze, especially in our north.
- Area rivers are on the rise from the recent rounds of heavy
rain, and heavy rainfall later today may push them even
higher. Refer to the hydro section below for more details.
&&
.SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
Issued at 1252 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
Convective initiation has occurred across eastern Iowa. The
individual discrete cells will rapidly grow upscale into one or
more broken lines ahead of the cold front.
The atmosphere is becoming increasingly moist so the storms will
have plenty of fuel to produce heavy rainfall. The axis for the
heavier rain is somewhat narrow but rainfall amounts of an inch
in an hour will be possible with the stronger storms. Where
storms linger or repeat over the same areas, rainfall amounts
of 2 to 3 inches in a short time will be possible.
The pre-frontal line(s) of storms look to push east of the
Mississippi in the 6-8 PM time frame with the cold front
arriving during the mid to late evening hours. Very short range
models which had been pointing to a solid line of storms with
the front are now trending toward a scattered to broken line
with not much thunder associated with it. This 'may' be an
indication the convective allowing models are struggling with
the overall forcing from the upper level system.
The bulk of the rain looks to end across the area by midnight
but scattered rain showers along and immediately behind the
front will linger past midnight. However, the overall trend will
be decreasing areal coverage from west to east after midnight.
&&
.LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...
Issued at 306 AM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
Much colder air will continue to move into the area for the weekend
as a northwest flow pattern develops aloft. An area of high pressure
will build into the area Saturday night, which could set up our
first bout of frost/freeze conditions during the growing season.
There does appear to be a mid-level trough sweeping through the area
Saturday night, which could result in some cloud cover that could
keep our temperatures from falling too much, limiting our
frost/freeze potential. Despite this, the NBM probabilities of
freezing temperatures Saturday night are still around 50-80% along
and north of Interstate 80. Another night of frost/freeze conditions
are possible Sunday night as well, with similar exceedance
probabilities for freezing temperatures.
A quieter weather pattern will persist into early next week as a
broad upper ridge remains in place through the central US. A larger
trough begins to take shape across the western US into the latter
portion of the week. Therefore, some warming and a move toward some
smaller precipitation chances (20-40%) start to return to the area
by Thursday with a larger storm system potentially nearing the
region for Friday.
&&
.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 619 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
A line of storms continue to progress across the area along a
cold front. Most of the TSRA is forecast to be at or moving away
from the Terminals within the first 2 hours of the forecast
period, mainly impacting MLI and BRL as the line as has already
cleared DBQ and CID as of writing. Some low IFR CIGS and
possible lingering showers this evening through about 10pm to
midnight at the latest are plausible behind the cold front with
only occasional lightning associated. Gusty northwesterly winds
overnight into Saturday, with skies clearing.
&&
.HYDROLOGY...
Issued at 1136 AM CDT Thu Apr 16 2026
Discussion...
Over the past five days, multiple rounds of heavy rain have
impacted eastern Iowa, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
Rainfall amounts have run from 2 to 5 inches of rain; much of
this rain has been north of Highway 30.
Another round of heavy rain is forecast this afternoon and
evening with amounts running from a half inch to around 1.5
inches. With area soils running from moist to near saturation,
this additional rainfall will quickly run off into area
waterways resulting in new or increased river flooding along
with the potential for flash flooding.
Much of this rain is forecast to fall across southeast Iowa,
west central Illinois and into northern Illinois. River basins
impacted would be the Rock, lower Iowa, Skunk, Des Moines and La
Moine.
Rock River...
Based on overall river forecasts and another round of heavy rain
expected today, confidence is high (>80%) that the entire
length of the Rock River will reach flood stage by the weekend
and remain above flood stage into much of next week.
Mississippi River...
Routed flow coming down from the upper Mississippi, Wisconsin,
Rock, Iowa and other tributary rivers will cause general rises
along the length of the Mississippi. Based on the current routed
flow and another round of heavy rain, confidence is high (>80%)
that the Mississippi will reach flood stage from Muscatine down
through Keithsburg and at Gregory Landing. Gladstone and
Burlington are already above flood stage and will see additional
rises as the additional routed flow arrives over the weekend
and into next week.
Iowa Tributary Rivers...
Rivers in eastern Iowa are running high from the rounds of heavy
rain. Flood warnings continue for the lower Wapsipinicon River
near DeWitt and the Iowa River above Coralville near Marengo.
Based on routed flow, the lower Cedar River near Conesville will
go above flood stage over the weekend.
The North Skunk River near Sigourney is forecast to go above
flood stage tonight with general rises expected farther
downstream and on the Skunk River.
&&
.DVN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IA...Flood Watch until 4 AM CDT Saturday for IAZ040>042-052>054-
064>068-077-078-088-089-099.
IL...Flood Watch until 4 AM CDT Saturday for ILZ001-002-007-009-
015>018-024>026-034-035.
MO...Flood Watch until 4 AM CDT Saturday for MOZ010.
&&
SHORT TERM...08
LONG TERM...Schultz
AVIATION...NWS
HYDROLOGY...08Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 17, 3:23 AM CDT, 15 hours 41 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL 323 AM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026 IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007- 009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-180900- Buchanan-Delaware-Dubuque-Benton-Linn-Jones-Jackson-Iowa-Johnson- Cedar-Clinton-Muscatine-Scott-Keokuk-Washington-Louisa-Jefferson- Henry IA-Des Moines-Van Buren-Lee-Jo Daviess-Stephenson-Carroll- Whiteside-Rock Island-Henry IL-Bureau-Putnam-Mercer-Henderson- Warren-Hancock-McDonough-Scotland-Clark- 323 AM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of north central Illinois...northwest Illinois...west central Illinois...east central Iowa...northeast Iowa...southeast Iowa and northeast Missouri. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT An Enhanced Risk (Level 3 of 5) for severe weather remains in place across the area for this afternoon and evening. Damaging winds and tornadoes, some possibly strong, are the primary threats. Localized flash flooding is also possible. Southerly winds will gust to around 40 mph this afternoon prior to the severe thunderstorm development. Area rivers are experiencing flooding. Please see the latest Flood Statements and Flood Warnings for details. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY Much colder air will bring the potential for frost and freeze conditions to parts of the area Saturday night and Sunday night. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is likely for this afternoon and evening. JTS
In the hours before
Local storm report, Apr 17, 6:12 PM CDT, 52 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
612 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0523 PM Tstm Wnd Gst Iowa City Municipality 41.63N 91.55W
04/17/2026 M54 MPH Johnson IA Public
ASOS.
&&Local storm report, Apr 17, 6:24 PM CDT, 40 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
624 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0619 PM Tstm Wnd Gst Davenport Municipality 41.61N 90.59W
04/17/2026 M66 MPH Scott IA ASOS
ASOS.
&&Local storm report, Apr 17, 6:31 PM CDT, 33 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
631 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0557 PM Tstm Wnd Gst Fort Madison Municipali 40.67N 91.33W
04/17/2026 M54 MPH Lee IA AWOS
AWOS.
&&Local storm report, Apr 17, 6:40 PM CDT, 24 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
640 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0603 PM Tstm Wnd Gst Burlington Regional Air 40.78N 91.13W
04/17/2026 M47 MPH Des Moines IA ASOS
ASOS.
&&Local storm report, Apr 17, 6:58 PM CDT, 6 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
658 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0634 PM Tstm Wnd Gst Clinton Municipality 41.83N 90.33W
04/17/2026 M58 MPH Clinton IA AWOS
AWOS.
&&Local storm report, Apr 17, 6:59 PM CDT, 5 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
659 PM CDT Fri Apr 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0345 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg Lena 42.38N 89.83W
04/17/2026 Stephenson IL Public
Photos show structural damage to houses.
Relayed via social media. Tornado possible.
&&
CMDThe surface observations
Sterling Rockfal (SQI), 37 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:05 UTC.
Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track
Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2026 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 17, 2026
89 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 17 | 1:46 PM CDT | EF0 | Mower, MN | 2.8 | 110 | |||
| April 17 | 1:55 PM CDT | EF0 | Dodge, MN | 5.3 | 150 | |||
| April 17 | 2:15 PM CDT | Unrated | Jackson, IA | 1.0 | 0 | |||
| April 17 | 2:19 PM CDT | EF2 | Olmsted, MN | 9.7 | 250 | 2 | ||
| April 17 | 2:32 PM CDT | Unrated | Butler, IA | 1.6 | 10 | |||
| April 17 | 2:33 PM CDT | EF1 | Olmsted, MN | 12.4 | 200 | |||
| April 17 | 2:47 PM CDT | EF1 | Jo Daviess, IL | 3.7 | 100 | |||
| April 17 | 2:47 PM CDT | EF2 | Olmsted, MN | 7.7 | 200 | |||
| April 17 | 2:47 PM CDT | EF0 | Howard, IA | 4.2 | 60 | 1 | ||
| April 17 | 3:08 PM CDT | Unrated | Atchison, KS | 0.0 | 0 | |||
| April 17 | 3:26 PM CDT | EF3 | Buffalo, WI | 10.3 | 300 | |||
| April 17 | 3:36 PM CDT | EF2 | Stephenson, IL | 12.5 | 1,250 | |||
| April 17 | 4:07 PM CDT | EF1 | Osage, KS | 1.1 | 75 | |||
| April 17 | 4:09 PM CDT | EF1 | Trempealeau, WI | 5.6 | 90 | |||
| April 17 | 4:17 PM CDT | Unrated | Clayton, IA | 0.6 | 20 | |||
| April 17 | 4:20 PM CDT | EF1 | Trempealeau, WI | 4.6 | 130 | |||
| April 17 | 4:35 PM CDT | Unrated | Winnebago, IL | 0.7 | 50 | |||
| April 17 | 4:44 PM CDT | EF1 | Marathon, WI | 4.3 | 100 | |||
| April 17 | 4:46 PM CDT | EF3 | Marathon, WI | 13.5 | 600 | $8,000 | ||
| April 17 | 4:52 PM CDT | EF1 | Jackson, WI | 2.3 | 150 | |||
| April 17 | 4:57 PM CDT | EF1 | Winnebago, IL | 5.0 | 400 | |||
| April 17 | 5:02 PM CDT | EF1 | Washington, IA | 5.3 | 100 | |||
| April 17 | 5:19 PM CDT | EF1 | Cass, MO | 4.8 | 0 | |||
| April 17 | 6:02 PM CDT | EF1 | Rock, WI | 1.9 | 75 | |||
| April 17 | 6:05 PM CDT | EF1 | Rock, WI | 2.1 | 100 | |||
| April 17 | 6:15 PM CDT | EF1 | Rock, WI | 4.4 | 75 | |||
| April 17 | 6:39 PM CDT | EF1 | Walworth, WI | 3.0 | 75 | |||
| April 17 | 6:40 PM CDT | EF0 | Mercer, IL | 0.9 | 50 | |||
| April 17 | 6:43 PM CDT | EF1 | Walworth, WI | 3.1 | 75 | |||
| April 17 | 6:55 PM CDT | EF1 | Hancock, IL | 5.7 | 150 | |||
| April 17 | 6:55 PM CDT | EF0 | Kay, OK | 5.1 | 100 | |||
| April 17 | 7:03 PM CDT | EF1 | Winnebago, IL | 11.6 | 350 | |||
| April 17 | 7:03 PM CDT | EF1 | Kay, OK | 14.4 | 1,200 | |||
| April 17 | 7:11 PM CDT | EF1 | Kay, OK | 0.9 | 75 | |||
| April 17 | 7:12 PM CDT | EF1 | Kay, OK | 0.3 | 75 | |||
| April 17 | 7:13 PM CDT | EF1 | Hancock, IL | 6.0 | 75 | |||
| April 17 | 7:15 PM CDT | EF1 | Knox, IL | 10.3 | 800 | |||
| April 17 | 7:19 PM CDT | EF1 | Benton, MO | 5.9 | 0 | |||
| April 17 | 7:22 PM CDT | EF0 | Walworth, WI | 1.9 | 50 | |||
| April 17 | 7:23 PM CDT | EF0 | Benton, MO | 0.4 | 200 | |||
| April 17 | 7:25 PM CDT | EF1 | Benton, MO | 1.6 | 150 | |||
| April 17 | 7:29 PM CDT | EF2 | McDonough, IL | 12.8 | 200 | $90 | ||
| April 17 | 7:32 PM CDT | EF0 | Racine, WI | 1.4 | 50 | |||
| April 17 | 7:40 PM CDT | EF2 | Fulton, IL | 18.1 | 500 | $500 | ||
| April 17 | 7:44 PM CDT | EF0 | Morgan, MO | 1.2 | 0 | |||
| April 17 | 7:46 PM CDT | EF1 | Morgan, MO | 7.2 | 300 | |||
| April 17 | 7:50 PM CDT | EF1 | Schuyler, IL | 36.7 | 1,200 | |||
| April 17 | 7:52 PM CDT | EF0 | Waukesha, WI | 0.6 | 70 | |||
| April 17 | 7:55 PM CDT | EF0 | Racine, WI | 3.7 | 50 | |||
| April 17 | 7:56 PM CDT | EF1 | Racine, WI | 5.2 | 75 | |||
| April 17 | 7:59 PM CDT | EF0 | Morgan, MO | 1.3 | 150 | |||
| April 17 | 8:08 PM CDT | EF0 | Cole, MO | 3.5 | 50 | |||
| April 17 | 8:11 PM CDT | EF1 | Mason, IL | 15.4 | 200 | |||
| April 17 | 8:14 PM CDT | EF1 | Bureau, IL | 17.6 | 300 | |||
| April 17 | 8:22 PM CDT | EF1 | Tazewell, IL | 6.3 | 100 | |||
| April 17 | 8:26 PM CDT | EF1 | Menard, IL | 5.9 | 300 | |||
| April 17 | 8:27 PM CDT | EF1 | Tazewell, IL | 2.3 | 500 | |||
| April 17 | 8:27 PM CDT | EF1 | Tazewell, IL | 2.3 | 70 | $50 | ||
| April 17 | 8:29 PM CDT | EF1 | Tazewell, IL | 4.6 | 1,100 | |||
| April 17 | 8:31 PM CDT | EF0 | Callaway, MO | 2.3 | 50 |
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.
Sources
NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.