National Weather Service

While two of the tornadoes were southeast of Bloomington-Normal, the bulk of the twisters were in west-central Illinois. The strongest was an EF-2 reported northeast of Jacksonville in Morgan County.

With today officially marking the first day of summer, extreme heat and humidity are expected to sweep through Central Illinois and the Midwest.

A new report from the National Weather Service concluded that a combination of drier soil, recent agricultural tilling, and dry windy conditions formed the rare dust storm that swept through Central Illinois on May 16.

Bloomington-Normal's weird weather streak continued Friday with a rare dust storm warning in McLean County, which has now expired.

Among the agencies targeted for staff reductions by the Trump Administration are the National Weather Service and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford says the cuts will have wide-ranging detrimental effects.

A pair of winter storms expected this week could bring Central Illinois its biggest snowfall of the season so far.

With predicted snow comes some relief from the cold. Highs are expected around 30 throughout the weekend.

The National Weather Service [NWS] in Lincoln says rain is expected during the day Wednesday and it could mix with snow. The rain-snow mix may return after 9 p.m. but little or no snow accumulation is expected.

Bloomington-Normal could see its first snow of the season Thursday, but don’t pull out the sleds and shovels just yet. It won’t be much.

Illinois has had 70 confirmed tornadoes so far this year. That’s 25% more than the 30-year average. Last year, the state had 121 tornadoes, three short of the record.