Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2026
EF1 tornado, Moweaqua Hilvety Arp to Bethany, Illinois, June 17, 2026
From Moweaqua Hilvety Arp to Bethany, this EF1 tornado ran 3.4 miles across Shelby and Moultrie counties on June 17, 2026, touching down at 5:27 PM CDT and reaching 75 yards wide. It killed nobody.
Preliminary. This is NWS ILX's damage survey, filed in the Damage Assessment Toolkit as Bethany 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
- June 17, 2026
- Touchdown
- 5:27 PM CDT (22:27 UTC)
- Lifted
- 5:29 PM CDT (22:29 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 3.4 miles (5.4 km)
- Path width
- 75 yards (69 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Counties
- Shelby and Moultrie counties
- Touchdown point
- 39.624, -88.818
- Lift-off point
- 39.620, -88.755
- Highest wind the damage implies
- 100 mph
- Surveyed by
- NWS ILX
- The office's name for it
- Bethany Tornado
- Survey last edited
- June 20, 2026
- Record number
- None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.
What the survey found
The tornado touched down about 4 miles southwest of Bethany in northeast Christian County where it snapped a softwood tree trunk and removed large branches from hardwood trees. It continued east, crossing the county line into Moultrie County and damaging more trees along its path. It lifted near County Road 300 N, about 2 miles south of Bethany.
Written by NWS ILX in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.
The damage survey
37 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS ILX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 107 mph.
- Rolled bins but not much tree damage
- Tree damage along 100 yds of tree line
- South Pole of line of 11 replaced.
- Last of 11 poles replaced.
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
What the Weather Service recorded
Several rounds of significant convection impacted central Illinois on June 17th, 2026. Clusters of thunderstorms initially formed on the nose of a strong low-level jet streak across Iowa during the pre-dawn hours, then tracked southeastward along a warm frontal boundary into central Illinois through midday. Scattered damaging wind gusts were reported in north-central Illinois, with the most concentrated corridor of 60-70 mph winds focused along a Galesburg, to Peoria, to Chenoa line.||Thunderstorms re-developed along a remnant outflow boundary from the morning convection by mid to late afternoon, with the most intense cells materializing along and south of a Springfield to Paris line where several tornadoes occurred and hail larger than baseballs (3 diameter) was reported across portions of Moultrie, Douglas, and Coles counties. An EF2 tornado impacted the Mattoon to Charleston area, and an EF3 tracked just north of Effingham.
The tornado crossed from Macon County into Shelby County just east of Route 51 near Long Grove Creek. It tracked east, just south of the county line for about 1.8 miles, damaging trees and electrical transmission lines. The tornado lifted 3 miles northeast of Moweaqua along N 1000 East Rd.
The tornado touched down in extreme northeast Shelby County along E 2800 North Road where it snapped a softwood tree and removed large branches from hardwood trees. It crossed into Moultrie County at E 2800 North Road and Route 128.
The tornado crossed from Shelby County into Moultrie County at Route 128 and CR 1500 N, tracking east about 3 miles before dissipating near CR 300 E. Tree damage was observed along the path, with softwoods snapped and large branches removed from hardwoods.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
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 Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jun 17, 3:16 PM CDT, 2 hours 11 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- A Tornado Watch is in effect until 10pm CDT for locations along and south of a Macomb to Chenoa line. All severe hazards are possible...with the greatest probability for strong tornadoes focusing south of a Springfield to Paris line.
- Quiet weather will prevail Thursday through Saturday...with the next chance for thunderstorms arriving by Sunday.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 17, 3:16 PM CDT, 2 hours 11 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lincoln IL 316 PM CDT Wed Jun 17 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - A Tornado Watch is in effect until 10pm CDT for locations along and south of a Macomb to Chenoa line. All severe hazards are possible...with the greatest probability for strong tornadoes focusing south of a Springfield to Paris line. - Quiet weather will prevail Thursday through Saturday...with the next chance for thunderstorms arriving by Sunday. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 316 PM CDT Wed Jun 17 2026 19z/2pm mesoanalysis shows an outflow boundary left behind by the morning convection along a Quincy...to Litchfield...to Salem line. This is considerably further south than previously thought: therefore the most significant risk for widespread severe weather later this afternoon and evening has shifted south as well. As such, the new Tornado Watch coordinated with SPC does not include the far northern KILX CWA from the Peoria area northward. MLCAPEs are currently under 1000J/kg: however, as the boundary mixes slowly northward this afternoon, the RAP suggests MLCAPEs will increase into the 1500-2000J/kg along/southeast of a Quincy to Champaign line over the next couple of hours. Impressive wind fields aloft are contributing to very strong 0-6km bulk shear of 60-80kt...while 0-1km shear values remain in the 30-40kt range. Given marginal instability and extreme shear, am expecting supercell thunderstorms to rapidly develop along/ahead of a slowly advancing cold front across the Illinois River Valley imminently. All severe hazards will be in play...including damaging wind gusts in excess of 70mph, hail larger than golf balls, and tornadoes. The Significant Tornado Parameter (STP) is currently maximized closer to the outflow boundary from central/northern Missouri across south-central Illinois, but is progged to lift northward later this afternoon/evening. At this time, it appears the highest probability of potentially strong tornadoes will focus along/south of a Springfield to Paris line. Thunderstorms are currently developing in a band from Galesburg/Rushville eastward to Pontiac/Champaign. CAMs have generally sped up the development process, as well as the gradual S/SE movement of the band. As a result, think the primary severe risk will be focused along the I-72 corridor between 4pm and 6pm, then will sink toward I-70 by 7pm to 9pm. The primary line of convection will exit the far SE KILX CWA around midnight: however, a few showers may linger further north throughout the evening into the first part of the overnight. A short-wave trough will bring a period of mid-level cloudiness to central Illinois Thursday morning, with forecast soundings suggesting the potential for a few light rain showers mostly along/south of a Rushville to Robinson line where slight chance PoPs (20%) are warranted. Once this wave departs, a return to cool and mostly dry weather will be on tap for Friday and Saturday. The next significant chance for precipitation will hold off until late Saturday night into Sunday as a stronger short-wave trough traverses the Plains and approaches from the west. Given better deep-layer moisture and strong forcing, think showers and thunderstorms will become widespread. The severe weather risk remains uncertain at this time, with several machine learning algorithms such as Colorado State and NSSL keeping the greatest probabilities further south. A few NCAR members do however suggest 15-30% probs northward into central Illinois, so will need to keep an eye on mesoscale details as the time nears. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY/... Issued at 1247 PM CDT Wed Jun 17 2026 Convection is ongoing across central Illinois early this afternoon: however, 1740z/1240pm radar imagery shows the back edge of the precip along a KGBG to KSPI line. Based on radar/satellite trends, it appears the terminals will see a couple hour break as the afternoon progresses before a final line of thunderstorms forms from the Iowa/Missouri border eastward into the area after 19z/20z. Following the latest HRRR/RAP solution closely, have highlighted thunder with visbys down to 1 mile at KPIA between 19z and 21z...then further south to the I-72 sites between 22z and 00z. Once the convective line settles further south, scattered showers will remain possible until early evening. After that, am expecting skies to become mostly clear through much of the evening before a layer of mid-level clouds AOA 15,000ft spreads across the area by Thursday morning. Winds are highly variable at the moment due to ongoing storms, but will become southeasterly this afternoon...then westerly this evening as a cold front passes. && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Watch until 10 PM CDT this evening for ILZ027>031- 036>038. Wind Advisory until 7 PM CDT this evening for ILZ040>057- 061>063-066>068-071>073. && KEY MESSAGES...Barnes DISCUSSION...Barnes AVIATION...Barnes
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 17, 3:28 PM CDT, 1 hour 59 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lincoln IL 328 PM CDT Wed Jun 17 2026 ILZ036>038-040>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-181100- 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- 328 PM CDT Wed Jun 17 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois, east central Illinois, southeast Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...Tonight. A broken line of thunderstorms capable of all severe hazards will settle southward through central Illinois late this afternoon and evening. The strongest cells within the line will have the potential to produce tornadoes, damaging wind gusts in excess of 70mph, and hail large than golf balls. The highest probability for strong tornadoes will focus along and south of a Springfield to Paris line. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. Thunderstorms will develop across the area late Saturday night into Sunday. At this time it appears the severe weather risk will remain low. River flooding is ongoing for portions of central Illinois. Please refer to the latest flood statements for details. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will be needed through 10pm this evening. Expected storm motion is toward the east at 60-70mph. ILZ027>031-181100- Knox-Stark-Peoria-Marshall-Woodford- 328 PM CDT Wed Jun 17 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...Tonight. A few strong to severe thunderstorms capable of damaging wind gusts and large hail will track across north-central Illinois late this afternoon. The storms will drop south of the Peoria area by early evening. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. Thunderstorms will develop across the area late Saturday night into Sunday. At this time it appears the severe weather risk will remain low. River flooding is ongoing for portions of central Illinois. Please refer to the latest flood statements for details. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed through 5pm this afternoon. Expected storm motion is toward the east at 60-70mph. Barnes
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jun 17, 5:11 PM CDT, 16 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
511 PM CDT Wed Jun 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0446 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 E Dawson 39.86N 89.42W
06/17/2026 Sangamon IL Emergency Mngr
Power Poles and trees blown down on highway
36 est of Dawson.
&&Local storm report, Jun 17, 5:13 PM CDT, 14 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
513 PM CDT Wed Jun 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0503 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg Champaign 40.11N 88.26W
06/17/2026 Champaign IL Emergency Mngr
Powerline down at 1209 West Park with tree
down on wire.
&&Local storm report, Jun 17, 5:16 PM CDT, 11 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
516 PM CDT Wed Jun 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0510 PM Hail Elwin 39.78N 88.98W
06/17/2026 M1.50 Inch Macon IL Emergency Mngr
Ping Pong size hail.
&&Local storm report, Jun 17, 5:17 PM CDT, 10 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
517 PM CDT Wed Jun 17 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0510 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg Decatur 39.84N 88.95W
06/17/2026 Macon IL Emergency Mngr
Powerline line blown down at Shadow Ridge in
Decatur.
&&Local storm report, Jun 17, 5:24 PM CDT, 3 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Jun 17, 5:25 PM CDT, 2 minutes before
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</html>The air that afternoon
The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.
Lincoln, IL (KILX), 12:00Z
10.5 hours before the tornado, 61 km from the path. June 17, 2026.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -12043 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2139 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 41 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 138 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 239 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 2.4 K/km
Lincoln, IL (KILX), 00:00Z
1.5 hours after it, 61 km from the path. June 18, 2026.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 611 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -58 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 811 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 895 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 70 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 109 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 166 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.6
- Supercell composite
- 3.5
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.1 K/km
The surface observations
Decatur (DEC), 25 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 Lincoln radar (KILX), 75 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:25 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 June 17, 2026
27 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 17 | 7:23 AM CDT | EF1 | Jefferson, IA | 2.0 | 0 | |||
| June 17 | 8:25 AM CDT | EF1 | Warren, IL | 1.3 | 100 | |||
| June 17 | 9:05 AM CDT | EF1 | Lee, IA to IL | 1.3 | 100 | |||
| June 17 | 1:28 PM CDT | Unrated | Dale, AL | 5.3 | 0 | |||
| June 17 | 1:30 PM CDT | Unrated | Dale, AL | 5.1 | 0 | |||
| June 17 | 4:12 PM CDT | EF0 | Coffee, AL | 0.5 | 50 | |||
| June 17 | 4:19 PM CDT | EF1 | Menard, IL | 24.1 | 150 | |||
| June 17 | 4:53 PM CDT | EF2 | Allamakee, IA to WI | 33.5 | 320 | |||
| June 17 | 5:05 PM CDT | EF1 | Christian, IL | 10.7 | 700 | |||
| June 17 | 5:45 PM CDT | EF1 | Grant, WI | 21.7 | 150 | |||
| June 17 | 6:32 PM CDT | EF1 | Iowa, WI | 6.6 | 100 | |||
| June 17 | 6:42 PM CDT | EF2 | Coles, IL | 13.8 | 800 | 1 | ||
| June 17 | 6:48 PM CDT | EF0 | Sangamon, IL | 5.7 | 200 | |||
| June 17 | 7:10 PM CDT | EF1 | Dane, WI | 2.7 | 300 | |||
| June 17 | 7:16 PM CDT | EF0 | Lafayette, WI | 1.2 | 50 | |||
| June 17 | 7:56 PM CDT | EF3 | Effingham, IL | 31.9 | 500 | 2 | ||
| June 17 | 9:07 PM EDT | EF1 | Vigo, IN | 6.6 | 300 | |||
| June 17 | 8:36 PM CDT | EF1 | Jasper, IL | 1.1 | 125 | |||
| June 17 | 8:41 PM CDT | Unrated | Jasper, IL | 2.0 | 20 | |||
| June 17 | 9:44 PM EDT | EF3 | Owen, IN | 18.5 | 880 | 1 | ||
| June 17 | 9:32 PM CDT | EF0 | Lake, IL | 0.3 | 125 | |||
| June 17 | 10:43 PM EDT | EF1 | Brown, IN | 1.4 | 100 | |||
| June 17 | 12:03 AM EDT | EF1 | Jackson, IN | 6.3 | 325 | |||
| June 17 | 12:14 AM EDT | EF2 | Dearborn, IN to KY | 8.9 | 450 | 1 | ||
| June 17 | 12:34 AM EDT | EF1 | Boone, KY | 6.2 | 400 | |||
| June 17 | 1:22 AM EDT | EF2 | Franklin, IN to OH | 7.6 | 400 | |||
| June 17 | 12:56 AM CDT | EF0 | Terrebonne Parish, LA | 3.0 | 200 |
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.