Overview
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A highly visible tornado developed during the early evening of Friday, August 21, 2026. Photo and video from storm chasers, along with isolated damage and a brief debris signature on radar, was used to confirm the tornado and its attributes. A Tornado Warning was issued in advance of this tornado developing. The tornado went through a rock quarry, where it blew over an industrial conveyor system. Storms continued to regenerate over parts of southern Bureau and Putnam Counties throughout that evening, resulting in localized 4+ inches of rain and isolated flash flooding. Elsewhere, isolated hail and several wall clouds with a few funnel clouds were observed. |
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Tornadoes
Select a tornado from the table to zoom into the track and view more information. The default table view is limited to 8 tracks, but can be scrolled by a mouse wheel or dynamically expanded. Additionally, the table can fill the entire window by clicking the small circular expanding arrow icon at the very top right of the table and returned to its original size by clicking the button again. The side information panel that opens over the map can be closed using the "X" on the upper right corner of the pop-up. Zoom into the map and click damage points to see detailed information and pictures from the surveys.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT ON DEPUE-HENNEPIN AREA TORNADO
More on the Henkel, IL Tornado in Lee County (NWS Chicago)
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NOTE: times shown below are local to your device's time zone. |
The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:
| EF0 Weak 65-85 mph |
EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph |
EF2 Significant 111-135 mph |
EF3 Severe 136-165 mph |
EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph |
EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph |
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| Tornadoes that fail to impact any ratable damage indicators on the EF-Scale are rated EF-Unknown (EF-U) | |||||
Photos
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| Tornado developing just south of DePue as seen from town. Photo: Trent Solorio |
Tornado south of DePue, likely over or near the Illinois River. Bottom obscured due to trees. Photo: DePue, IL Fire Dept |
Tornado just onto the shore from the Illinois River. Photo: Brandon Rafa |
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| Tornado moving through a rock quarry. Photo: Brandon Rafa |
Tornado moving through or just past the rock quarry. Photo: @WindyCityWxMan |
Tornado moving through or just past the rock quarry. Photo: Logan Bundy |
Storm Reports
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| Nationwide Storm Reports |
Preliminary Local Storm Report...Summary
National Weather Service Quad Cities IA IL
724 PM CDT Mon Aug 24 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0649 PM Hail 1 WNW Savanna 42.09N 90.16W
08/21/2026 E1.00 Inch Carroll IL Broadcast Media
Broadcast media report of quarter-sized hail
in Savanna. Time estimated by radar.
0711 PM Tornado 1 S Depue 41.30N 89.32W
08/21/2026 Putnam IL NWS Storm Survey
Corrects previous tornado report starting
location and time. An EF0 tornado, with
estimated peak winds of 80 MPH, developed
near the southern banks of the Illinois
River and curled its way across northern
Putnam County. The tornado crossed through a
rock quarry, where it tipped over a portion
of an industrial conveyor system. Minor tree
and utility line damage was noted.
0723 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg Fulton 41.86N 90.15W
08/21/2026 Whiteside IL Trained Spotter
Power poles down.
0730 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 E Fulton 41.86N 90.15W
08/21/2026 Whiteside IL Public
Power lines down across the road in Fulton
Illinois on Illinois 136 towards Clinton.
Time estimated from radar.
0734 PM Funnel Cloud 3 S Granville 41.23N 89.23W
08/21/2026 Putnam IL Trained Spotter
Based on multiple spotter photos and
reports.
0738 PM Hail 1 NE Fulton 41.87N 90.15W
08/21/2026 M0.88 Inch Whiteside IL Trained Spotter
Largest hailstone seen was the size of
nickels.
0830 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 SSE Osborn 41.49N 90.25W
08/21/2026 Henry IL Trained Spotter
Large branches down.
0850 PM Flash Flood Mark 41.26N 89.24W
08/21/2026 Putnam IL Emergency Mngr
Reports of street flooding at a few
locations around the town of Granville.
Radar
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| August 21, 2026, 6:53 P.M.-7:53 P.M. CDT KDVN 0.5° Reflectivity |
Rainfall
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| Radar estimated rainfall from 6-9 P.M. CDT on August 21, 2026. |
Forecast & Environment
Forecasts & Warnings
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| Severe T-Storm Watch issued at 3 PM, August 21 | NWS Graphicast issued at 5:46 P.M. | Tornado Warning issued for southern Bureau County & northern Putnam County |
Near-Storm Environment Summary
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| 1 PM CDT (18Z) NWS Quad Cities weather balloon data | 7 PM CDT (00Z) NWS Central Illinois weather balloon data (better captures the pre-frontal environment that Putnam County was experiencing) | 7 PM surface observations |
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