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Severe Storms Sweep Midwest as SPC Flags Missouri–Illinois Corridor for Long-Track Tornado Risk

Forecasters warn that high instability and strong wind shear favor supercells capable of powerful, long-lived tornadoes this afternoon.

Men look through damage following a tornado in Enid, Oklahoma, on April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
A shop reduced to a pile of debris in Enid, Oklahoma, on April 24, 2026.
Image
A group of storm chasers watch a tornado while tornado sirens were sounding in Texas.

Overview

  • Fast-moving storms Monday morning pounded parts of the Midwest with hail, damaging winds and flooding in Kansas City, where firefighters carried out 11 water rescues after about 3.2 inches of rain fell in six hours.
  • The Storm Prediction Center identified central Missouri into southern Illinois as the top concern today for multiple supercells with the potential for long-track, strong tornadoes.
  • SPC maintained current watches and prepared for additional ones, noting a possible new tornado watch near the I-70 corridor south and east of Kansas City as line segments tap surface-based warm, humid air.
  • Storms that began as discrete supercells in some areas have merged into bowing lines, which boosts the risk of damaging straight-line winds and large hail even when tornado risk briefly lowers.
  • The ongoing outbreak follows confirmed weekend tornadoes in Texas, including an EF-2 in Runaway Bay and an EF-1 in Springtown that killed at least two people, with more severe storms forecast this afternoon and evening across the Mid-Mississippi Valley.