On Friday afternoon, hail the size of tennis balls was falling from a bruise-colored sky somewhere outside of Tama, Iowa. Drivers stopped on the road. From doorways, farmers observed. Across a corridor that stretched from northern Texas up through Minnesota, the same kind of scene was unfolding almost simultaneously. This band of atmosphere had been producing violent weather for the better part of a week and was still unfinished. There was not a single bad storm. Over 960 filtered severe weather reports, including at least 60 tornado reports, had been generated since Tuesday due to the ongoing outbreak by Friday night. Even for those who track these things professionally, the number is startling.
Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas were the states where the outbreak’s core settled hardest. By Thursday night, these states had already experienced several rounds of destructive storms, and on Friday, they continued to do so. Near Elgin, Minnesota, a tornado destroyed two farmsteads and flipped a semi-tractor. In the Rochester region, another one landed in Marion. According to local reports, the strongest tornado to hit Wisconsin since 2021 destroyed a house in Juneau County and ripped off the roof of a church in Waukesha County. These are not figures. They are residential areas where people spent Friday night looking over the debris.
April 2026 Midwest Tornado & Severe Weather Outbreak
| Event Period | April 13–19, 2026 (ongoing multiday outbreak) |
| Total Severe Weather Reports | 960+ filtered reports (Tue–Fri); 750+ from Mon–Thu alone |
| Confirmed Tornado Reports | 60+ tornado reports (Tue–Fri); ~50 reports Mon–Thu |
| States Most Affected | Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota |
| People at Enhanced Risk | 22+ million (April 17 alone); cities include. Chicago, Kansas City, Wichita, Madison |
| Power Outages | 110,000+ customers without power as of early Saturday |
| Notable Hail Size | Baseball-sized hail reported; tennis ball-sized near Tama, Iowa |
| Strongest Tornado (Wisconsin) | Juneau County, April 14 — strongest in Wisconsin since 2021; home leveled, church roof torn off |
| Max Wind Threat | Gusts exceeding 70–80 mph in eastern Kansas, Missouri, and western Illinois |
| Flooding Rivers | Muskegon & Grand (MI); Shioc, Menominee & Wolf (WI); Wabash (IN); upper Mississippi |
| Official Reference | NOAA Storm Prediction Center — spc.noaa.gov |
It’s difficult not to wonder what exactly is causing this particular week to recur. The same states are being hit by revolving storms every day. According to the meteorological explanation, Gulf moisture is forced northward across the Plains by a high-pressure system that is parked over the eastern United States. Meanwhile, a series of jet stream troughs pivot out of the West into the Central Plains, effectively reloading the severe weather machine with each trough. Although the pattern is atmospherically coherent, it feels unrelenting from the ground, particularly if you’re in southern Wisconsin or northern Iowa.
On April 17 alone, there was an increased risk of severe storms for over 22 million people. Residents of major cities with dense populations, outdated infrastructure, and vulnerabilities that only show up when the wind reaches 75 miles per hour—Chicago, Kansas City, Wichita, Madison, and Tulsa—are included in that number. On Friday, forecasters predicted baseball-sized hail, flash flooding rates of one to two inches per hour, and gusts of more than 70 to 80 mph in eastern Kansas, Missouri, and western Illinois. Over 110,000 customers in the Midwest were sitting in the dark by early Saturday morning.
Though it may last longer, the flooding aspect of this outbreak has received a little less attention than the tornadoes. The Shioc, Menominee, and Wolf rivers in Wisconsin, as well as the Muskegon and Grand rivers in Michigan, are either at or near major flood stage. A considerable portion of the Wabash River in Indiana is experiencing minor flooding. Even if the rain completely stops, there may be weeks of minor flooding along parts of the upper Mississippi River above St. Louis. Larger river systems gradually absorb flash flooding from smaller tributaries, and this process takes time to reverse. Communities that are now concentrating on storm damage may have to deal with flood damage long after the severe weather watch has ended.
Compared to a single catastrophic storm event, a multiday outbreak like this one is especially confusing. A hurricane has a track, a timeline, and a named object. People take specific steps to get ready for it. The psychological burden is different after a week of hail and tornadoes that roll over a thousand-mile stretch of land; it builds up. Parts of the Midwest had already experienced three rounds of severe weather by Thursday. They received another one on Friday. The setup for Friday has “all the ingredients for significant severe weather,” according to AccuWeather senior meteorologist Adam Douty. This is a clinical understatement that sounds different when you’ve already seen two storms pass through your county that week.
The forecast models give the impression that the worst is coming to an end. Though at a lower intensity than the Friday peak, Saturday is predicted to see activity move eastward into central and eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, southwestern New York, and portions of Tennessee. Although conditions for the widespread outbreak are predicted to improve, a few tornadoes could still occur in the strongest cells. As the cold front moves away from the East Coast by Sunday, forecasters are predicting a three-day break from severe weather. For the majority of the Midwest, that would be truly welcome news. It’s saturated ground. The rivers are overflowing. People are also sick of gazing up at the sky.