A slow-moving frontal boundary interacted with a highly unstable and moderately sheared environment to trigger strong to severe thunderstorms across parts of central Illinois from the late afternoon of August 16th into the early morning hours of August 17th.  A tornado touched down near Smithfield in Fulton County.  Other cells produced sporadic wind damage and hail as large as golf balls.  Excessive rainfall rates created localized flash flooding in Edinburg in Christian County.

Thunderstorm Wind in SANGAMON, ILLINOIS
From 16-AUG-18 21:40:00 to 16-AUG-18 21:45:00 (CST-6)
Location: SPRINGFIELD
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 6.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

A few trees were blown down in Springfield near the intersections of Lincoln and Washington Streets and North Grant and Shenandoah Streets.

Tornado in FULTON, ILLINOIS
From 16-AUG-18 15:38:00 to 16-AUG-18 15:48:00 (CST-6)
Location: SMITHFIELD
Tornado F-scale: EF0
Property damage: 30.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

A tornado touched down in a field about 1.5 miles ESE of Smithfield at 4:38pm CDT.  The tornado travelled slowly southeastward, impacting one farmstead along its path.  A pole barn and small shed were destroyed, with flying debris from the barn causing minor roof and siding damage to the house.  The tornado continued along its path doing minor crop damage along the way before dissipating 3 miles SSW of Cuba at 4:48pm CDT.

Hail in MENARD, ILLINOIS
From 16-AUG-18 20:18:00 to 16-AUG-18 20:23:00 (CST-6)
Location: ATHENS
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Hail in SANGAMON, ILLINOIS
From 16-AUG-18 20:47:00 to 16-AUG-18 20:52:00 (CST-6)
Location: SHERMAN
Magnitude: 0.75 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in CHRISTIAN, ILLINOIS
From 16-AUG-18 22:52:00 to 16-AUG-18 22:57:00 (CST-6)
Location: STONINGTON
Magnitude: 0.75 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS
From 17-AUG-18 00:45:00 to 17-AUG-18 00:50:00 (CST-6)
Location: CHAMPAIGN
Magnitude: 0.88 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Thunderstorm Wind in CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS
From 17-AUG-18 00:45:00 to 17-AUG-18 00:50:00 (CST-6)
Location: CHAMPAIGN
Magnitude: 52.00 EG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Amateur Radio

A flag pole and several 6-inch diameter tree branches were blown down.

Hail in CHRISTIAN, ILLINOIS
From 16-AUG-18 22:45:00 to 16-AUG-18 22:50:00 (CST-6)
Location: EDINBURG
Magnitude: 0.75 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Lightning in MCLEAN, ILLINOIS
From 16-AUG-18 22:05:00 to 16-AUG-18 22:06:00 (CST-6)
Location: FLETCHER
Property damage: 25.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Lightning struck a shed, igniting a fire that spread to an old farmhouse about 2 miles southwest of Cooksville shortly after 11pm CDT on August 16th.  The shed was destroyed and the house suffered minor damage.

Flash Flood in CHRISTIAN, ILLINOIS
From 16-AUG-18 22:00:00 to 17-AUG-18 01:00:00 (CST-6)
Location: EDINBURG
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Slow moving thunderstorms with very heavy rain resulted in flash flooding in the town of Edinburg and surrounding rural areas. Water was covering most roads in and near Edinburg, some of which were impassable. The flooding subsided shortly after midnight local time.