The National Weather Service has issued a series of tornado watches for central and southern Illinois, with powerful twisters possible Monday evening.
The watches will last until 9 p.m. Central time, and include a wide swath of the state, including Springfield, Carbondale, Effingham, Decatur, Champaign and numerous other communities.
According to the latest updates from the Storm Prediction Center, there is a chance of “a couple of intense tornadoes” within the impacted areas, with threats of widespread damaging winds in excess of 75 miles per hour and “isolated very large hail events” as well, with baseball-size hail possible in those storms.
The Storm Prediction Center has southwestern and parts of southern Illinois at a “moderate” risk of severe weather, with the rest of central Illinois at an “enhanced” risk, according to the latest updates.
Thunderstorms are already firing in Missouri on Monday and are beginning to push toward the northeast at a high rate of speed, with several tornado warnings already issued as those storms approach the Mississippi River.
The Chicago area was originally expected to be at risk of severe weather, but that risk has dropped during the day on Monday thanks to earlier thunderstorms. Still, the region is at a “slight” risk of severe storms, with the main threats of heavy rain and gusty winds possible, according to forecast models.
There is also a non-zero risk of tornadoes in the impacted area, according to the NBC 5 Storm Team.
