April 17, 2026
Statistics
Springfield, IL 8:58 AM 4/17/2026
Springfield, IL 9:27 PM 4/17/2026
Dubuque, IA; Cedar Rapids, IA; Colchester, IL
Gust Fronts, Precipitation Cores
Summary
Targeted Dubuque for afternoon tornadic supercells, intercepting tornado warned storm south of town, but no real view from the notch. Retargeted main cold front line near Cedar Rapids noting gust fronts. Targeted Tail End Charlie at dusk near Colchester, IL with gust fronts and then crossed likely tornado damage path after dark.
Crew and Equipment
Solo chase. Equipment: Sony AX100, Canon 60D with EFS 10-22, Samsung S25 Ultra.
Video
Map
Details
My initial target for this chase was Dubuque, IA. The environment looked primed by midafternoon and I hoped to catch cells maturing just west of town, and then let them go at the river. I did not want to pursue them into the bad terrain of southwest Wisconsin and figured they'd be congealed or an HP mess by the time they go into better terrain south of Madison. Cells went up right on cue to my southwest and I moved in for the intercept.
The initial severe warned cell was immature and would need to cycle.
It made a weak attempt at a lowering and then became rain wrapped as it crossed the Mississippi where it bends to the west. I let it go as the next cell in the developing line went tornado warned. I ran east back toward Dubuque, road crews still doing construction in the forward flank of a tornado warned supercell.
I ran south out of Dubuque for the intercept, stopping for a view within the notch. A fairly dramatic stormscapes, but I didn’t see anything tornado warned. I pursued it onto the grid briefly and let it go at the river before dropping down to the next tornado warned cell, basically Tail-End-Charlie in the short line segment. I came out behind the gust front of the rear flank and let it go as it too moved off into far northwest Illinois.
There were multiple tornado warnings to my west on the main cold front activity in central Iowa. Not the greatest target storm wise for a tornado, but I figured the terrain was much better, and perhaps there was a window of opportunity while things remained discrete. I scrambled west, heading toward Cedar Rapids and getting caught up in some rush hour traffic as the city was tornado warned. I arrived only to see a giant gust front.
The line congealed despite multiple tornado warnings. I routed for home with no viable discrete play, going through the Quad Cities toward Peoria to avoid the main squall line. Coming up on Galesburg, however, I decided to retarget a Tail-End cell on the line that was tornado warned and looked fairly discrete. The warm sector ahead of the line was beginning to overturn, and I passed some scuddy showers along the way.
Again, I was greeted by just a giant gust front as I approached the tornado warned cell. The main part of the line caught up and it all filled in. With no real view, I turned around and started heading for home again. Then a new warning came out, this time for a confirmed, damaging tornado. It was was 60 something degrees ahead of the gust front and blowing outflow at me.
I couldn’t believe there was a tornado somewhere in that mass, but I turned around and decided to stick my nose in the notch again. In inexplicably lost a wiper blade, the metal arm scratching the windshield before I realized it was happening.
I let the storm overtake me, not seeing any real structure. The sky went to a deep green color in the pouring rain and then the van was rocked by a howling north wind. Whatever was embedded in the storm was to my south. When it let up some, I let my phone route me home, stair stepping south and east on the backroads. That’s when I crossed the damage path, maybe three to five miles south of where I had stopped in the core.
Outbuildings were destroyed, but nearby houses looked intact.
I almost ran out of gas trying to make it back, the fuel gauge dropping from a quarter to nearly zero within a few miles with sparse gas stations in Western Illinois. I made it to Rushville, but the pumps weren’t working, maybe taken out by the storm, so I pushed on to Beardstown and made it in on fumes.
Conclusion
Despite the number of tornado warned cells and a few dramatic moments, this chase was a borderline bust with little in the way of supercell structure and no tornado views. Chasers who pursued the intial supercells to Rockford, IL were rewarded with several tornadoes, a play I didn't think was viable. Instead this was almost 700 miles of running around between gust fronts.
Lessons Learned
