March 10-11, 2026 Severe Weather Overview
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A total of 6 tornadoes have been determined from the March 10-11 severe storms - 3 EF-1s & 3 EF-0s An unseasonably warm and humid airmass surged north during the afternoon of March 10th, pushing high temperatures into the upper 70s and lower 80s across central Illinois. Record highs were set at Springfield (84° F), Peoria (83° F), and Lincoln (82° F) -- all topping their previous highs set back in 1955. Late afternoon/early evening surface analysis showed a stationary front extending from southeast Iowa into northwest Indiana, with a sharp temperature gradient from north to south across the boundary. A highly unstable airmass was in place south of the boundary with low-level wind shear maximized just north of it. Thunderstorms were initially slow to develop due to a capping inversion and lack of upper-level support. As a shortwave trough tracked into the Upper Midwest late in the afternoon, the cap gradually eroded and the first supercell rapidly developed along the McLean/Woodford county line. This storm brought quarter-size hail (1" diameter) to far eastern Woodford county before lifting into Iroquois County and becoming significantly stronger as it curved eastward along the frontal boundary. It dropped destructive hail (4"+ diameter) north of Pontiac in Livingston County, then produced a long-track tornado that began in Kankakee County and continued into northwest Indiana. Further west, additional thunderstorms quickly developed along a stationary front. While most of these cells were just north of NWS Lincoln's county warning area, a couple strong to severe supercells tracked across northern Knox, Stark, and Marshall counties. Several reports of funnel clouds were received, with one EF-1 tornado determined near West Jersey near the Knox/Stark county line and two EF-0 tornadoes determined in central Stark county north of Toulon and northern Marshall county north of Lacon. Later that night, another round of storms developed from northeast Missouri into west-central Illinois along an advancing cold front. One of the thunderstorms produced strong downdraft winds estimated between 80-90 mph in Havana, causing extensive damage to trees and some buildings. The storms surged forward and spun up two EF-1 tornadoes east of Havana to Topeka (Macon County) and the other south of Forest City to Green Valley (Macon/Tazewell Counties). These tornadoes snapped several trees and power poles, overturned a few irrigation systems, and partially destroyed a horse barn. Storms continued into east-southeast Illinois during the overnight hours, producing scattered wind damage. heavy rain, and a another brief EF-0 tornado north of Yale in Jasper county. |
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.
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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) | |||||
Storm Reports
Preliminary Local Storm Report...Summary National Weather Service Lincoln IL 938 PM CDT Wed Mar 11 2026 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0412 PM Hail 6 SE Minonk 40.86N 88.95W 03/10/2026 M1.00 Inch Woodford IL Emergency Mngr Near the intersection of 1800 North and 3100 East. 0718 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 3 E Victoria 41.04N 90.04W 03/10/2026 Knox IL Emergency Mngr Multiple power lines were blown down, a carport was snapped, and a shipping container was flipped into a house north of the IL-180 and IL-167 intersection. 0722 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 4 E Victoria 41.04N 90.01W 03/10/2026 Knox IL Public Delayed report. Steel post in a concrete setting ripped out of the ground. Time estimated by radar. 0722 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 4 W West Jersey 41.03N 89.99W 03/10/2026 Knox IL Public Delayed report. Shipping container type storage building flipped onto its side. Time estimated by radar. 0722 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 4 E Victoria 41.04N 90.01W 03/10/2026 Knox IL Public Delayed report. Report with pictures of damage to a grain silo. Time estimated by radar. 0801 PM Tornado 3 N Sparland 41.07N 89.44W 03/10/2026 Marshall IL NWS Storm Survey Video evidence from an Illinois River barge operator confirmed the starting point of a tornado 3.5 miles NW of Lacon. The EF-0 tornado crossed the IL river and continued eastward where it damaged numerous trees north of Lake Wildwood. Photo evidence from a spotter showed the tornado still occurring 2 miles south of Magnolia before it dissipated just east of Highway 89 after 12.6 miles. 0811 PM Hail Henry 41.11N 89.36W 03/10/2026 E0.88 Inch Marshall IL Trained Spotter 1147 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 E Havana 40.30N 90.03W 03/10/2026 Mason IL Emergency Mngr Power lines were blown down along US-136 east of Havana. 1147 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg Havana 40.30N 90.06W 03/10/2026 Mason IL Emergency Mngr A few trees, power lines, and traffic lights were blown down. 1152 PM Tornado 1 E Havana 40.30N 90.04W 03/10/2026 Mason IL NWS Storm Survey The tornado touched down on the far east edge of Havana near Laurel Hill Cemetery, and moved northeast to near Topeka. A number of tree trunks were snapped along the path, and several power poles were snapped along county road 2130. The worst damage was about a mile west-northwest of Topeka, where a horse barn was partially destroyed, killing one horse. 1206 AM Tornado 1 SSE Forest City 40.36N 89.82W 03/11/2026 Mason IL NWS Storm Survey A number of irrigation pivots were overturned along the path, and several trees had branches damaged. The tornado moved northeast toward Green Valley where it snapped off 8 power poles before dissipating a short time later. 1216 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 W Green Valley 40.41N 89.66W 03/11/2026 Tazewell IL Emergency Mngr Power poles were snapped near the intersection of Toboggan Avenue and Chapel Road. 1220 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg South Pekin 40.49N 89.66W 03/11/2026 Tazewell IL Emergency Mngr A street lamp pole was blown down. 1222 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg Pekin 40.57N 89.64W 03/11/2026 Tazewell IL Emergency Mngr Part of a large tree was blown down onto a garage. 1228 AM Hail Tremont 40.53N 89.49W 03/11/2026 M1.25 Inch Tazewell IL Broadcast Media 1230 AM Hail 1 ENE Tremont 40.53N 89.48W 03/11/2026 E1.00 Inch Tazewell IL Emergency Mngr 1240 AM Tstm Wnd Gst Goodfield 40.63N 89.28W 03/11/2026 M57 MPH Woodford IL Trained Spotter 0147 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 SE Decatur 39.83N 88.93W 03/11/2026 Macon IL 911 Call Center Power lines down on Florida Court. Time estimated by radar. 0155 AM Hail 2 S Forsyth 39.89N 88.96W 03/11/2026 E1.50 Inch Macon IL Broadcast Media 0444 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 NE Pana 39.39N 89.07W 03/11/2026 Christian IL Public Large tree down on garage relayed by broadcast media. Time estimated from radar. 0444 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 NE Pana 39.39N 89.07W 03/11/2026 Christian IL Public Report of a fence destroyed relayed by broadcast media. Time estimated via radar. 0524 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg Altamont 39.06N 88.75W 03/11/2026 Effingham IL Trained Spotter Power lines down. Time estimated from radar. 0524 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg Mattoon 39.48N 88.37W 03/11/2026 Coles IL Public Report relayed by broadcast media of air conditioner units ripped off a building in town. Time estimated by radar. 0524 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 SSE Mattoon 39.47N 88.36W 03/11/2026 Coles IL Emergency Mngr Multiple smaller trees snapped at their base and a pine tree uprooted. A house has a damaged fence. Time estimated from radar. 0524 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 SSW Mattoon 39.47N 88.38W 03/11/2026 Coles IL Public Report relayed by broadcast media of a shed flipped upside down in the middle of the road. Time estimated by radar. 0600 AM Tstm Wnd Gst Xenia 38.64N 88.64W 03/11/2026 M60 MPH Clay IL Law Enforcement 0600 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 WNW Xenia 38.64N 88.67W 03/11/2026 M67 MPH Clay IL Fire Dept/Rescue 0605 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 3 WSW Flora 38.66N 88.53W 03/11/2026 Clay IL Public Tree uprooted across the road at old US 50 and Fox Creek Rd. Time estimated by radar. 0615 AM Flood Decatur 39.85N 88.96W 03/11/2026 Macon IL Emergency Mngr Viaduct flooded with 2 cars stalled out. 0615 AM Flood 1 S Decatur 39.84N 88.95W 03/11/2026 Macon IL Emergency Mngr Viaduct flooded with 3 cars stalled out. 0621 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 N Annapolis 39.17N 87.82W 03/11/2026 Crawford IL Emergency Mngr Delayed report: Two houses have outbuildings with roof damage, trees snapped, power lines down, and one grain bin knocked over. Time estimated from radar. 0624 AM Tstm Wnd Gst Dundas 38.84N 88.09W 03/11/2026 M70 MPH Richland IL Public Reported from a personal weather station. 0625 AM Rain 2 W Decatur 39.84N 88.99W 03/11/2026 M1.60 Inch Macon IL Trained Spotter Overnight rainfall report from SWOP observer. 0645 AM Flood Tolono 39.98N 88.26W 03/11/2026 Champaign IL Fire Dept/Rescue Viaduct flooded due to the rain and traffic was being diverted.
Rain Reports
Beneficial rain fell over much of the area March 10-11, with the heaviest swath near the I-72 corridor into east-central IL. Some flash flooding was reported in Macon and Champaign counties with overnight thunderstorms.
Radar
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| Base Reflectivity (left) & Storm Relative Velocity (right) showing tornadic rotation north of Lacon at 8 pm March 10. | Base Reflectivity (left) & Base Velocity (right) showing a strong rear flank downdraft winds of ~70 kts / 80-90 mph around 11:48 pm March 10. | Base Reflectivity (left) & Storm Relative Velocity (right) showing a reflectivity nub paired with cyclonic rotation just east of Havana at 11:52 pm March 10. | Caption |
Photos & Video
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| Wind damage in Havana, IL. (NWS Damage Survey) |
Structural and tree damage from the Havana-Topeka EF-1 tornado. (NWS Damage Survey) |
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Additional Information
The Forecast
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| SPC Day 3 Categorical Outlook | SPC Day 2 Categorial Outlook | 12Z SPC Day 1 Categorical Outlook | 16Z SPC Day 1 Categorial Outlook Upgraded to a Moderate Risk (Level 4 out of 5) |
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| 16Z SPC Day 1 Tornado Outlook, showing a Level 2 Intensity over north-central IL | 16Z SPC Day 1 Wind Outlook | 16Z SPC Day 1 Hail Outlook | Tornado Watch issued around 4 PM on March 10, 2026 |
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| 6 PM surface analysis showing the warm front (red dashed) & a secondary wind shift (yellow highlighted) | 18Z Mar 10 KILX sounding | 00Z Mar 11 KILX Sounding | Caption |
Surrounding Office Event Summaries:
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