New severe weather outbreak with tornadoes unfolding for Illinois, large part of Midwest
AccuWeather meteorologists have issued a high-risk of severe thunderstorms packing damaging winds, including tornadoes, for a hard-hit region of the central United States into Wednesday night.
Dr. Reed Timmer spotted a possible tornado while chasing a storm near Seneca, Illinois, on June 17.
Just days after a severe weather outbreak affected the Plains and Midwest, a new severe weather outbreak is unfolding into Wednesday night for the storm-weary region. Along with a powerful wind gust event that could evolve into a derecho, multiple tornadoes are likely and some could be strong and long-lived.
The setup will bring dangerous conditions due to severe weather, with all modes likely, ranging from powerful wind gusts and tornadoes to hail, frequent lightning strikes, and flash flooding. There is a significant risk to lives and property due to the impending severe weather. Widespread, long-lasting power outages are possible, along with extensive travel delays.
"A strong area of low pressure, unusually intense for June, will sweep across the Midwest into Wednesday night," AccuWeather Vice President of Forecast Operations Dan DePodwin said. "This storm will interact with plentiful warm and humid air, setting the stage for widespread damaging thunderstorm wind gusts and the potential for multiple tornadoes."
There could be a swarm of tornadoes if the individual thunderstorms stay separate (discrete cells) for an extended period, as opposed to quickly merging into one line of storms, DePodwin explained.
A complex of severe thunderstorms traveled across Iowa late Tuesday night.
"This complex of storms could evolve into a derecho and roar across parts of the Ohio Valley states, including Illinois and Indiana, with damaging wind gusts through Wednesday afternoon," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said. A derecho is a long-lived straight-line wind gust event that consistently causes damage over a swath of hundreds of miles.
"Then, just hours later, the atmosphere will reload and tornadoes may sweep through some of the same communities."
Regardless, any thunderstorms through Wednesday night will move rapidly, perhaps at 70 mph or more. This could leave little time to prepare before a storm, which is why it is important that people have an immediate way to receive warnings, such as the free AccuWeather mobile app.
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Gusts up to 85 mph will be common in the strongest storms, due to their fast-moving nature. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ wind gust is 105 mph. Some of the tornadoes could be intense and on the ground for miles.
"The tornado risk could extend well into the late-night hours on Wednesday across the Ohio Valley," DePodwin warned. "Nocturnal tornadoes are most dangerous because they are hard to see and occur when most people are sleeping and may not respond as quickly to warnings."
The Midwest has been the epicenter for severe thunderstorms this year, with last week's multiday outbreak resulting in more than 500 damaging wind reports on June 10 and 11 and a preliminary count of 74 tornadoes.
"In Illinois alone, the preliminary count of tornadoes for 2026 is 145, when compared to 147 (finalized) for all of last year," AccuWeather Social Media Producer Jesse Ferrell said. "Last year's Illinois tornado count was higher than any year since 1950."
Despite the fast-moving nature of many of the storms, some areas will be prone to repeating or slow-moving downpours. A particular trouble spot for flash flooding may be in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri and Arkansas on Thursday, where a front may stall, as well as a much larger flood threat zone from northeast Texas to Georgia in response to a tropical rainstorm moving inland.
The risk of severe weather will shift into the Northeast on Thursday, which will follow a couple of days of dry and cool conditions for the middle of June. Severe weather related to Arthur is also forecast for parts of the Southeast.
The atmosphere will reload over the Central states this weekend with large areas of severe weather anticipated.
As the storms approach and pass through the airport hubs, flight delays and cancellations will increase.
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