Multiple Severe Thunderstorm Warnings are active across Illinois right now, as a fast-moving squall line races northeast at 45 to 60 mph through the heart of the state — packing 70 mph wind gusts, flash-flooding rain and a Severe Thunderstorm Watch that reaches all the way to the Chicago suburbs and extends until 10 PM CDT tonight.
Destructive Winds Hit the Peoria Area
The most dangerous Illinois alerts are coming from the National Weather Service in Lincoln, which issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning flagged as a “Considerable” damage threat for Marshall, Woodford, northeastern Tazewell and northeastern Peoria counties.
Storms along the line were tracked from near Henry to near Lacon to near Germantown Hills, moving northeast at 45 mph.
Wind gusts up to 70 mph are forecast — strong enough to cause considerable tree damage, with damage likely to mobile homes, roofs and outbuildings. As the NWS Lincoln office stated, “Expect considerable tree damage.
Damage is likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings.” Storms were bearing down on Metamora, Henry, Washburn, Varna and Minonk, with Toluca, Wenona and Benson in the path minutes later.
Multiple interstates are directly in the storm’s track: I-155, I-39, I-474 and I-74 are all impacted, covering a broad swath of the east-central Illinois highway network. A separate warning with 60 mph gusts was active simultaneously for Mason, south-central Tazewell and northwestern Logan counties, tracking east toward San Jose and Delavan.
Torrential rainfall is accompanying the wind, and flash flooding is already occurring or expected in multiple warned counties. Drivers are urged not to attempt flooded roadways under any circumstances.
Northern Illinois: DeKalb, Rockford and Toward Chicago
A second set of active warnings is running across northern Illinois, issued by the NWS Chicago office. A warning with 60 mph gusts was active for La Salle and De Kalb counties, with the storm line tracking northeast through DeKalb, Sycamore, Ottawa, Sandwich, Streator, Marseilles and Seneca. Separately, warnings remained in effect for southeastern Ogle, northern De Kalb, western McHenry and Boone counties — covering Belvidere, Woodstock, Harvard, Marengo, Huntley and Hampshire.
In the Rockford area, eastern Winnebago County including Loves Park and Cherry Valley was under a warning for 60 mph gusts as storms tracked northeast. Quarter-size hail (1 inch) was also reported with a storm in Putnam County, tracked by the Quad Cities NWS office.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch Through 10 PM
Beyond the active warnings, the NOAA Storm Prediction Center in Norman issued Severe Thunderstorm Watch 304 in effect through 10 PM CDT Wednesday for 33 Illinois counties — extending from the central Illinois storm zone all the way to Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Will and Kendall counties in the Chicago metropolitan area. The watch also covers Lake Michigan coastal waters from Winthrop Harbor to Calumet Harbor.
A second watch, Watch 301, covered northern Illinois counties including Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Carroll, Jo Daviess, Henry, Rock Island, Whiteside and Bureau through 7 PM CDT, along with most of Wisconsin and eastern Iowa.
What to Do Right Now
If you are in a warned county, move immediately to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Stay away from windows. Do not attempt to shelter in a mobile home or vehicle. If you are outdoors, do not wait — lightning and 70 mph winds are life-threatening.
Monitor the latest warnings from weather.gov/ilx (central Illinois) and weather.gov/lot (northern Illinois/Chicago area), and have multiple ways to receive emergency alerts active on your phone.
