Tornado watch issued for parts of Illinois and northeast Missouri

The Storm Prediction Center issued an early tornado watch for parts of central and northern Illinois and far northeast Missouri on Wednesday, warning that a few tornadoes, including some intense ones, could develop as storms moved east-southeast.

The first watch was in effect from 7:50 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. CDT on June 17, 2026. Forecasters also warned of widespread damaging winds, isolated gusts up to 85 mph and isolated very large hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter.

Severe weather setup

SPC guidance said a strong line of storms was moving east-southeast from Iowa into Illinois, with increasing storm-relative helicity helping support tornado development.

Later in the day, the severe-weather threat expanded farther east. A second tornado watch was issued for central Illinois and the St. Louis area from 2:15 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. CDT.

That later watch warned of several tornadoes, a chance of a few intense tornadoes, hail up to 3 inches and wind gusts up to 75 mph. SPC also gave the watch area a high probability of multiple tornadoes and a significant hail-and-wind threat.

Warnings and impacts

Live updates from the same outlet later reported tornado warnings as the outbreak evolved, including a warning near Divernon in Christian and Sangamon counties.

The day was described as a moderate-risk severe-weather setup, with the main concern shifting from the first round of storms to a later round with stronger tornado potential farther east. Forecasters said the key questions were whether any tornadoes would be confirmed on the ground, how far east the strongest storms would track and whether the risk would weaken after the line passed.