(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Illinois may solidify its status as the new Tornado Alley.
The state recorded 141 tornadoes in 2025 and, not even halfway through 2026, 140 this year. The forecast from the National Weather Service in Lincoln says Wednesday’s storms could produce an EF-3 tornado.
The storm which damaged, among other things, Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport and the Animal Protective League June 10-11 was classified an EF-1.
“The greatest threat – 15-to-29 percent chance of a tornado within 25 miles of any point – is highest in the Springfield-through-Danville corridor and north,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Ben Deubelbeiss during a briefing Tuesday.
The mid-morning and mid-to-late afternoon are the expected times for the two waves of storms Wednesday, with winds expected to top 75 miles an hour. Hail could be two inches in diameter.
The briefing marked 6-9 p.m Wednesday as the time for the worst of it in the Springfield area.
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