A series of severe thunderstorms produced tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds across central Illinois on May 3rd. Preliminary information regarding the event can be found on the "Reports" tab below. The meteorological summary and event photos will be updated over the next few days.
Details regarding the tornadoes that occurred across central Illinois on May 3rd can be seen below. A list of all severe weather reports (including hail and damaging wind) is included after the damage survey information.
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Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Lincoln IL
331 AM CDT Mon Jul 27 2026
...MAXIMUM HEAT INDEX REPORTS...
Location Heat Idx. Time/Date Provider
...Illinois...
...Cass County...
Chandlerville 119 F 0215 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Champaign County...
Philo 101 F 0535 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Christian County...
PANA 122 F 0453 PM 07/26 CWOP
...Clark County...
Casey 103 F 0600 PM 07/26 CWOP
...Clay County...
Flora Arpt 120 F 0335 PM 07/26 AWOS
...Coles County...
Charleston 99 F 0535 PM 07/26 ISWS
...Crawford County...
Oblong 104 F 0715 PM 07/26 AWS
Robinson Arpt 102 F 0616 PM 07/26 AWOS
...Cumberland County...
Greenup 101 F 0625 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...De Witt County...
Lane 106 F 0500 PM 07/26 CWOP
Waynesville 102 F 0600 PM 07/26 CWOP
...Douglas County...
Arcola 107 F 0545 PM 07/26 CWOP
Arcola 101 F 0425 PM 07/26 DAVIS
Arcola 100 F 0455 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Effingham County...
Beecher City 107 F 0325 PM 07/26 DAVIS
Effingham Arpt 106 F 0315 PM 07/26 AWOS
Altamont 100 F 0315 PM 07/26 DAVIS
Baraboo 99 F 0715 PM 07/26 CWOP
...Fulton County...
Farmington 126 F 0615 PM 07/26 DAVIS
London Mills 126 F 0555 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Jasper County...
Oblong 102 F 0655 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Knox County...
Delong 119 F 0520 PM 07/26 CWOP
Galesburg 116 F 0420 PM 07/26 CWOP
Galesburg Arpt 108 F 0315 PM 07/26 AWOS
...Lawrence County...
Mt Carmel Arpt 108 F 0535 PM 07/26 AWOS
Sumner 105 F 0400 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Logan County...
Mt. Pulaski 114 F 0645 PM 07/26 CWOP
Logan County Arpt 112 F 0735 PM 07/26 AWOS
...Macon County...
Decatur Arpt 99 F 0554 PM 07/26 ASOS
...Marshall County...
Henry 113 F 0641 PM 07/26 CWOP
Toluca 110 F 0225 PM 07/26 DAVIS
Lacon Arpt 104 F 0455 PM 07/26 AWOS
Toluca 102 F 0500 PM 07/26 DAVIS
Varna 101 F 0620 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Mason County...
Snicarte 126 F 0645 PM 07/26 ISWS
2 SE Topeka 125 F 0500 PM 07/26 MESOWEST
Mason City 113 F 0615 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...McLean County...
Danvers 106 F 0630 PM 07/26 DAVIS
Towanda 106 F 0455 PM 07/26 CWOP
Bloomington Arpt 104 F 0456 PM 07/26 AWOS
Cooksville 101 F 0155 PM 07/26 CWOP
Leroy 99 F 0645 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Morgan County...
Jacksonville Arpt 120 F 0455 PM 07/26 AWOS
...Moultrie County...
Sullivan 99 F 0655 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Peoria County...
Peoria 111 F 0500 PM 07/26 DAVIS
Peoria Intl Arpt 110 F 0654 PM 07/26 ASOS
Peoria 109 F 0559 PM 07/26 CWOP
Laura 103 F 0555 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Piatt County...
Monticello 100 F 0605 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Richland County...
Olney 113 F 0405 PM 07/26 ISWS
Olney Noble AP 110 F 0350 PM 07/26 AWOS
...Sangamon County...
Springfield 123 F 0555 PM 07/26 ISWS
Buffalo 122 F 0555 PM 07/26 DAVIS
5.5 W Springfield 122 F 0315 PM 07/26 CWOP
Spfld Capital AP 119 F 0452 PM 07/26 ASOS
...Shelby County...
Moweaqua 112 F 0705 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Stark County...
Bradford 106 F 0405 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Tazewell County...
Washington 120 F 0531 PM 07/26 CWOP
Green Valley 117 F 0605 PM 07/26 DAVIS
East Peoria 117 F 0631 PM 07/26 CWOP
Pekin 116 F 0630 PM 07/26 CWOP
Morton 115 F 0603 PM 07/26 CWOP
Washington 112 F 0545 PM 07/26 CWOP
Groveland 109 F 0525 PM 07/26 DAVIS
Goodfield 103 F 0755 PM 07/26 CWOP
Armington 102 F 0545 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Vermilion County...
Danville 104 F 0211 PM 07/26 CWOP
Rossville 99 F 0220 PM 07/26 DAVIS
Hoopeston 99 F 0335 PM 07/26 DAVIS
...Woodford County...
Eureka 111 F 0555 PM 07/26 CWOP
Minonk 110 F 0245 PM 07/26 DAVIS
1 NW Metamora 108 F 0536 PM 07/26 CWOP
2 N Panola 105 F 0530 PM 07/26 AWS
GERMANTOWN HILLS 105 F 0645 PM 07/26 CWOP
Lowpoint 105 F 0655 PM 07/26 DAVIS
Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying
equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers
for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.
$$
Geelhart
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1122 PM CDT MON MAY 3 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0455 PM HAIL 3 SSE BLUFF SPRINGS 39.95N 90.33W
05/03/2021 E1.50 INCH CASS IL COCORAHS
0504 PM HAIL VIRGINIA 39.95N 90.21W
05/03/2021 E1.50 INCH CASS IL PUBLIC
RELAYED BY BROADCAST MEDIA. DAMAGE TO CARS.
0505 PM TORNADO 3 S VIRGINIA 39.91N 90.21W
05/03/2021 CASS IL TRAINED SPOTTER
ON GROUND IN OPEN FIELD. DIME SIZED HAIL.
0515 PM HAIL 4 WSW NEWMANSVILLE 39.98N 90.08W
05/03/2021 E1.00 INCH CASS IL FIRE DEPT/RESCUE
RELAYED BY ASHLAND FIRE.
0527 PM TORNADO 2 WNW PLEASANT PLAINS 39.88N 89.95W
05/03/2021 SANGAMON IL STORM CHASER
CORRECTION TO PREVIOUS REPORT OF TORNADO 3 N
ASHLAND.
0532 PM HAIL 3 S PETERSBURG 39.97N 89.85W
05/03/2021 E1.00 INCH MENARD IL AMATEUR RADIO
0532 PM TSTM WND DMG 3 S PETERSBURG 39.97N 89.85W
05/03/2021 MENARD IL AMATEUR RADIO
POWER POLES BLOWN DOWN INTO FIELD.
0610 PM TORNADO 1 ESE DAWSON 39.85N 89.45W
05/03/2021 SANGAMON IL PUBLIC
BRIEF TOUCHDOWN NEAR I-72.
0612 PM TSTM WND DMG 3 N DAWSON 39.90N 89.46W
05/03/2021 SANGAMON IL TRAINED SPOTTER
POWER POLES DOWNED.
0614 PM TORNADO 1 NW MECHANICSBURG 39.82N 89.41W
05/03/2021 UF1 SANGAMON IL TRAINED SPOTTER
CORRECTS PREVIOUS TORNADO REPORT FROM 1 NW
MECHANICSBURG.
0718 PM HAIL 1 S MACON 39.70N 89.00W
05/03/2021 E1.00 INCH MACON IL PUBLIC
0728 PM HAIL 5 WSW ROSAMOND 39.35N 89.25W
05/03/2021 E2.00 INCH CHRISTIAN IL TRAINED SPOTTER
0824 PM TSTM WND DMG CHARLESTON 39.48N 88.18W
05/03/2021 COLES IL EMERGENCY MNGR
TREE BLOWN DOWN.
&&
$$
The following is a technical overview of the meteorological conditions that occurred during the May 3rd severe weather event across central Illinois.
On Monday, May 3rd, thunderstorms developed along a cold front in north central Missouri and progressed into west central Illinois by mid-afternoon. Widespread cloud cover was in place across central Illinois through much of the morning and afternoon, but clouds diminished ahead of the cold front. In areas where the sun came out ahead of the front, temperatures climbed into the upper 70s. Dew point temperatures were in the mid-60s, resulting in a moderately unstable environment with around 1500 J/kg of mixed-layer convective available potential energy (MLCAPE). This instability combined with 35-45 knots of deep layer wind shear was supportive of severe weather. The angle between the shear vectors and the cold front was greater than 45 degrees, allowing for the development of supercells. The first image below shows the surface observations as of 22z/5pm, with the cold front pushing into west central Illinois. The second image shows the MLCAPE as of 22z/5pm. Note the lack of blue shading across central Illinois indicating the atmosphere is unstable and ready for thunderstorm development in the presence of a forcing mechanism (in this case, the forcing mechanism was the cold front). The second image shows the shear vectors at the same time.
The tornado threat was enhanced by a mesoscale convective vortex (MCV), an area of spin in the atmosphere that formed as a result of thunderstorms the previous day across Kansas/Nebraska, which tracked across north-central Missouri then northeastward across the Illinois River Valley. This MCV contributed to a surface wind shift, from southwesterly to southeasterly, ahead of the cold front. This localized wind shift increased the low-level wind shear, which increased the tornado potential.
Several severe thunderstorms developed along the cold front and moved through central Illinois. The strongest storm tracked from Cass County east-southeastward towards Coles County. That storm produced at least four tornadoes and up to 2" hail (hen egg sized). (See the "Reports" tab for complete details regarding the location of tornadoes). All four tornadoes occurred primarily in open fields, and a tornado rating could not be assigned due to the lack of damage. The other severe thunderstorms produced large hail, but did not produce tornadoes. Overall, damage reports from the event were fairly limited. Power poles were blown down in Sangamon County, however, it is believed this damage was caused by straight line winds. Ping pong ball sized hail caused damage to vehicles in Virginia, IL. An observer five miles north of Buffalo, IL, reported that enough half-inch sized hail stones fell to cover the ground in hail.
Satellite Loop
Visible and IR satellite loop showing storm initiation in north-central Missouri during the late morning hours of May 3rd. As it moves eastward, a line of thunderstorms quickly develops and strengthens upon reaching the Illinois border with cold cloud tops (orange colors) indicating persistent updrafts. Additional cells develop southward into the favorable storm environment while the line progresses across the state. After sunset, storms begin to lose energy and weaken as they approach the Indiana border.
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Closer Look at Tornadic Storm
The loop below is a base reflectivity animation focusing on the supercell that went on to produce 5 tornados in central Illinois. This radar loop shows the early stages of this storm and spans 16 minutes from 4:41-4:57 PM local time. In this loop, red boxes indicate a severe thunderstorm warning and the purple box indicates a tornado warning.
Photos of the thunderstorms across central Illinois. This section will be updated. If you have photos of the storms that you would like for us to include in the event summary, send us a tweet at @NWSLincolnIL with your picture, location, and permission to use your photo.
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.jpg/Diego Garcia, 8S Virginia (3)__360x480.jpg)
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