Very Active Start to 2026 Severe Weather Season

Overview

The 2026 severe weather season is off to a very busy start with a plethora of early-season individual severe weather events. As of April 19, 2026, there have been 11 individual thunderstorm events associated with at least one report of severe weather (tornadoes, damaging winds, damaging hail and/or flash flooding) within the NWS Chicago forecast area. The average number of days with severe weather from January 1 through April 30 with at least one report of severe weather is around four! Here are the lists of events so far in 2026: 

• January 8-9, 2026: Rare January flash flooding and strong winds

• March 6, 2026: Thunderstorms produce localized flash flooding, damaging winds, and damaging hail near the southern shore of Lake Michigan

• March 10, 2026: Localized severe weather outbreak with several tornadoes, including an EF-3, in the Kankakee River Valley and state record large hail over 6 inches in diameter. 

• March 15-16, 2026: Thunderstorms produce localized wind damage near Will and Cook Counties in northeastern Illinois

• March 26, 2026: Locally damaging hailstorms moved across northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana 

• March 30-31, 2026: Multiple rounds of thunderstorms produced damaging hail across the area

• April 2, 2026: Three tornadoes and swaths of wind damage in northern Illinois

• April 13, 2026: Thunderstorms produce damaging winds and hail damage near the Kankakee River Valley

• April 14, 2026: Large hail, damaging winds, and flash flooding across northern Illinois

• April 15, 2026: Locally damaging winds and hail across northern Illinois

• April 17, 2026: Regional severe weather outbreak with damaging winds and tornadoes 

Storm Reports

The Lower Great Lakes region has been a hotspot for severe weather so far in 2026, with a relatively dense area of reports of tornadoes, damaging winds, and damaging hail. In particular, a corridor from eastern Iowa into southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois has been remarkably active. 

National Reports

Total number of tornado, damaging winds, and damaging hail reports across the United States from 1/1/2026 to 4/19/2026. Link to data.

National Tornado Reports

Total number of tornado reports across the United States from 1/1/2026 to 4/19/2026. Link to data.

National Hail Reports

Total number of damaging hail reports across the United States from 1/1/2026 to 4/19/2026. Link to data.

National Wind Reports

Total number of damaging wind reports across the United States from 1/1/2026 to 4/19/2026. Link to data.

Selected Severe Weather Days Locally

SPC Outlooks and Watches

SPC Severe Weather Outlook Days 

The Storm Prediction Center has outlooked at last part of the NWS Chicago forecast for severe weather 15 days so far in 2026, including an unusual number of days at a Level 3 out of 5 (Enhanced) or higher. Typically, our area sees 4 to 8 days with an outlook for severe weather through the end of April. 

NWS Chicago | January 1 - April 19, 2026

Calendar of maximum SPC Day 1 outlook categories impacting the NWS Chicago forecast area from January 1 to April 19, 2026. Image courtesy of the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.

Selected Severe Weather Outlooks across the NWS Chicago Forecast Area:

(Click on image to go to SPC event archive)

Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Watches

There have also been an unusually high number of Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm watches issued for our area so far in 2026. From January 1 to April 19, there have been 8 Severe Thunderstorm and 6 Tornado Watches that included at least one county in the NWS Chicago forecast area, making for a total of 14 convective watches. 

Number of Tornado Watches issued by county across the United States from January 1 to April 19, 2026. This map does not include local watch extensions.	Number of Severe Thunderstorm Watches issued by county across the United States from January 1 to April 19, 2026.  This map does not include local watch extensions.

Number of distinct Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Watches that included at least one county in the NWS Chicago Forecast Area from January 1 to April 19, 2026. Data courtesy of the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.

Local Warnings

Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Warnings

As of April 19, NWS Chicago has issued 128 Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Warnings. This is a record high number through April 19! 

Number of accumulated Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm Warnings issued by NWS Chicago by calendar year. Data for 2026 is through April 19.

Confirmed Tornadoes

As of April 19, there have been at least 20 tornadoes in the NWS Chicago forecast area. The typical number of tornadoes in an entire calendar year is between 10 and 20! 

Note: Three (3) EF-1 tornadoes crossed into our area of responsibility and do not display in the tornado count in the dashboard below.

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
Tornadoes that fail to impact any ratable damage indicators on the EF-Scale are rated EF-Unknown (EF-U)

Additional Information

Links:

• NWS Quad Cities
• NWS Milwaukee
• NWS Lincoln (Central Illinois)
• NWS Northern Indiana
• NWS Indianapolis
• NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit Viewer
• NWS Chicago Past Events Page