From June 21–22, 2026, a significant and fatal tornado outbreak, accompanied by a derecho, occurred across the United States, with the majority of activity concentrated in Illinois and Indiana. This outbreak was the third major outbreak to impact Illinois and Indiana in June 2026, succeeding a major outbreak on June 11 and another outbreak on June 17.
In the early morning on June 21, a very short-lived but strong high-end EF2 tornado completely destroyed a double-wide mobile home north of Wichita, Kansas, killing one person. In the afternoon and evening hours, numerous tornadoes took place across southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana, with a pair of EF2 tornadoes inflicting significant damage to trees and outbuildings near Newton, Illinois. A low-end EF3 tornado tracked around 15 miles in areas just north of Mount Vernon, Illinois. This tornado destroyed several mobile homes, killing two people and injuring five others. An EF2 tornado occurred near Fort Branch, Indiana, tearing the roof off a home and destroying a church. Tornadic activity continued into the overnight hours, with an EF1 tornado causing an entrapment at a retirement community and injuring two people after tracking through areas east of Evansville and north of Newburgh, Indiana.
On June 22, various tornadoes touched down, including a morning EF2 tornado spawned by a damaging derecho that struck northwestern portions of El Reno, Oklahoma, damaging several homes. In the afternoon, another EF2 tornado tracked near Savageton, Wyoming, snapping over a dozen power poles and severely damaging a residence. During the two days, a total of 66 tornadoes touched down across 13 states, killing three people and injuring seven others.
Alongside the tornadoes and derecho, widespread flooding was reported, with some areas having numerous roads and the first floor of residences flooded. Damaging thunderstorm winds inflicted millions of USD in damages, with tens of thousands of power outages and widespread damage being reported across the country.
Meteorological synopsis June 21
Forecasting
On June 20, 2026, the Storm Prediction Center outlined a Day 2 slight risk for a large portion of the central United States, stretching from western Indiana and western Kentucky to northeastern Colorado and southwestern Nebraska. A 5% CIG1 probability for tornadoes within 25 miles (40 km) of a point was outlined for portions of central-eastern Missouri and southern Illinois, as a large MCS was forecasted to form over eastern Kansas and Missouri, before tracking eastward throughout the day and reaching the Ohio Valley by the afternoon hours. An outflow boundary was likely to be left behind by the MCS, stretching across central-eastern Missouri and southern Illinois, and along with potential atmospheric destabilization recovery, supported a tornado threat in Missouri, Illinois, and possibly southwestern Indiana. On June 21, 2026, at 1:00 a.m. CDT (06:00 UTC), the 5% CIG1 probability for tornadoes within 25 miles (40 km) of a point was expanded to include portions of southwestern Indiana and a small part of southeastern Kansas, as an MCV over Kansas was expected to track through central and northern Missouri into the Midwest and Ohio Valley by the evening.
Alongside the MCV, a surface low was expected to move across parts of central Missouri and Illinois while deepening along a front, and with high atmospheric moisture and sufficient low-level wind shear, supported the development of a storm cluster with embedded supercells and mesovortices. A strong tornado threat was possible if any supercells sustained themselves for a long enough duration. Additionally, strong heating and sufficient deep-layer shear supported a threat for all severe hazards from south-central Missouri into the lower Ohio Valley. At 8:00 a.m. CDT (13:00 UTC), the Storm Prediction Center maintained a 5% CIG1 probability for tornadoes within 25 miles (40 km) of a point in the newly released outlook, after initially considering an upgrade within a small corridor across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. However, much uncertainty remained with how much atmospheric instability would take place in the afternoon following a series of morning storms. Throughout the morning, an MCS with a parent MCV extended across portions of central Missouri into northern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas. An outflow boundary emitting from this system was likely to have storms form along it throughout the afternoon, and, despite the uncertainty with instability, it was likely that at least moderate instability would be available in a region with of deep-layer shear, allowing for supercellular development. An eastward low-level jet was expected to strengthen the low-level shear, creating a greater risk for tornadoes, with the possibility of a strong tornado occurring. Additionally, it was likely that the storms would form into multiple clusters in the lower Ohio Valley throughout the evening and early morning hours, increasing the risk for damaging winds.
At 11:30 p.m. CDT (16:30 UTC), the Storm Prediction Center reduced the size of the 5% CIG1 probability area in southeastern Missouri, being adjusted to include only portions of south-central to southwest Missouri. However, a 2% CIG1 probability for tornadoes within 25 miles (40 km) of a point remained for the region. A long-lived line of thunderstorms was ongoing within the Midwest, extending from east-central Missouri to southwestern Missouri and northeastern Oklahoma. The line of thunderstorms was tracking into a region where the temperature and moisture of the air was increasing, with dew points around and gaps in cloud cover both contributing to considerable CAPE values. Strong low-level shear was present, but the veered nature of the wind increased uncertainty over whether storms developed into supercells or a squall line. At 3:00 p.m. CDT (20:00 UTC), the section of the 5% CIG1 tornado probability area located in Missouri was further reduced to the east, and several strong clusters of thunderstorms formed ahead of the MCS across the Mississippi Valley. The Storm Prediction Center also outlined two areas with a 15% CIG1 probability of damaging winds were outlined, with one being for southeastern Illinois, southern Indiana, and northwestern Kentucky. The second area stretched from eastern Colorado and northwestern Kansas to central-southeastern Oklahoma. Additionally, 15% CIG1 probability for large hail was outlined for southwestern Nebraska, eastern Colorado, western Kansas, and northwestern Oklahoma. Messy convection was expected to continue ahead of the MCV and along a warm front that stretched from eastern Illinois into Indiana, with a mixture of bowing structures and short-lived supercells. Additional storm formation was possible along an outflow boundary in Missouri and eastern Kansas, where conditions supported the possible development of tornadoes. It was likely that all convection would grow upscale into one or more bowing clusters as they tracked across the Ohio Valley during the overnight hours.
Event
During the afternoon of June 21, various supercells formed along the boundary over Illinois and Indiana, producing numerous tornadoes, some of them being strong (EF2+). At around 5:00 p.m. (22:00 UTC), a low-pressure area was near St. Louis, Missouri, with a warm front stretching eastward across Illinois and Indiana and a cold front extending to the southwest across Missouri. Moderate levels of instability were available in the area, with MLCAPE values around 2000 J/kg. Additionally, the deep-layer shear was unusually strong for the time of year, at . SRH was at 200300 m2/s2, and wind shear at above ground level was approximately , creating an environment primed for tornado development. Tornadic activity continued throughout the evening as the boundary slowly sank southward, as the environment remained mostly the same, with instability still being relatively high at 10:00 p.m. (03:00 UTC), with MLCAPE values being around 1500 J/kg. This environment alongside assistance from the afternoon MCS boundary led to the development of training supercells that slowly tracked southward throughout the afternoon and evening.During the morning storms on June 21, a very short-lived tornado touched down near Sedgwick, Kansas, obliterating a mobile home at high-end EF2 strength, killing one person. Debris were scattered six miles to the northeast, but no other structures were found to be damaged. In the afternoon, an EF2 tornado touched down near Newton, Illinois, completely destroying one outbuilding and inflicting significant damage to trees. Right after the first EF2 tornado lifted, a second one touched down, destroying another outbuilding, flattening crops, and snapping numerous trees before dissipating. An EF3 tornado touched down near Dix, Illinois, tracking eastward and downing a cell tower before completely destroying three homes, leading to the deaths of two people. Along the track, numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. An EF2 tornado near Fort Branch, Indiana, tracked over , snapping power lines and trees before removing the roof from a residence and destroying a church. During the nighttime hours, an EF1 tornado tracked near Newburgh, Indiana, causing damage to several apartments at a retirement community. The tornado injured two people, with one having to go to the hospital after flying debris caused the front wall of an apartment unit to partially collapse inward. In another complex, nearly every building sustained damage, and around 90 people had to be evacuated.
June 22
Forecasting