Lexington, IL - Emergency Management Agency (EMA)

04/04/2026

4/3, 8:00pm - You can rest for now! Spotters are home until the squall comes through around midnight.

04/04/2026

4/3, 7:33pm - severe weather so far is staying just north of us. The cell by Minier is tracking a little farther south than the first one closer to us, but hopefully it also shifts a little north.

04/03/2026

Thursday, 4/2, 11:15pm **There are NO active warnings in our area!!**
One of our sirens seem to have went off without being set. We do not have spotters out at this time and there are no active warnings or watches in our area. We are looking into what caused the siren to sound. Apologies for the false alarm!

04/02/2026

More chances for severe weather today, with 40-50mph winds beginning late morning to early afternoon. Be weather aware today!

Severe thunderstorms are possible both today and Friday. Stay weather aware today and tomorrow, and be sure to have multiple ways to receive warnings.

03/26/2026

This will be a mostly hail event! Tornadoes not out of the question, but we are mostly concerned about large hail. Bring your breakables in and park in the garage if you can!

HAIL THREAT: We've increased the potential maximum hail size for more of us. Tennis to Baseball size hail possible, this is more focused before 10p, but large hail is expected to continue after that. This also would happen AFTER the cold front, so it might be in the 40s and 50s with large hail falling.

Not everyone gets the largest of hail, but if it hails in storms where you are, this is the maximum threat.

03/25/2026

🚑 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 🚑

We have some exciting news to share with our communities! Beginning July 1, 2026, the Lexington Fire Protection District will become the primary ambulance provider for the Octavia Fire Protection District.

This transition ensures continued, reliable emergency medical coverage and strengthens service across our region. Please note that this will not change the already excellent Ambulance service being provided here in Lexington!

We look forward to serving the Octavia Fire Protection District communities of Anchor, Cropsey, Colfax, and Cooksville! 🚒💪

03/17/2026

Please read! This is exactly right. Lexington’s criteria:
Hail over quarter size
Winds over 60mph
Tornado warning ONLY when Lexington is in the direct path of a tornado on the ground or a funnel cloud

OUTDOOR WARNING SIRENS: Let's talk about these sirens.

Many people believe they should be able to hear them inside because they hear them every month during the monthly test. Think about how different the weather conditions are. If it's windy, raining, thundering or hailing when they go off, you may not hear them compared to on a quiet, sunny day when they test them.

Many people think they are the gospel when it comes to alerts. They aren't and they shouldn't be. You might be asleep, doing something, not paying attention, etc. if and when they go off. They should never be a primary way to get weather alerts. In fact, they are designed for those outdoors to get alerts, not those indoors. If you're inside, have at least two ways to get alerts. This could be a NOAA Weather Radio, WCIA WeatherCall, the WCIA 3 Weather App, watching TV or a local county text/call alert system if you have one.

Many people also believe that if they go off, it means a tornado is nearby. That's often NOT the case. Each county and municipality also has different criteria for sounding the outdoor warning sirens. Some do it for confirmed tornadoes only, even if there's a tornado warning. Some do it for wind gusts above a certain criteria or for very large hail. Some blow them if a tornado is within a certain distance. Some set them off for the whole county even if only part of a county is included. It's not a perfect nor is it an ideal system, but it does serve its purpose.

So, how should you treat outdoor warning sirens? The easiest way to view these is that when the sirens blow, you go look for more information. They are going off for a reason, but they don't tell you that reason. Many of you already do this. When you hear them, either you are already watching coverage or you begin to look for weather coverage/information. 95% of the time if there are sirens going off, we're probably at least on digital platforms, if not on TV providing weather coverage in some capacity. And, we'll work to provide you that information.

03/15/2026

*Sunday, 9am* Today is the day for some weird weather. We have a line of storms moving through shortly, then a break until this afternoon. Extremely high winds will kick up around 3pm with the next round. Make sure to secure loose items in your yard and as this graphic states, it’s not a bad idea to treat storm warnings as tornado warnings this evening. 60-80mph straight line winds can do just as much damage as a tornado.

Directly after the storms we will see a 60° drop in temps overnight and into the morning with some snow, leading to a flash freeze from the wet roads and possible white out conditions.

It’s a great day to do what you need to do before 3pm and stay settled at home through the night.

The potential for widespread wind damage across Central Illinois is growing. Wind gusts outside of storms are pushing 60mph, so it’s no hard to get 75mph+ gusts across the area as the line comes through. Tree damage and power outages are expected in some areas.

It may be a day where you want to treat even a severe thunderstorm warning like a tornado warning because of how significant the wind could be.

03/14/2026

Sunday through Monday get ready for…… literally everything.
Storms Sunday evening, wintery mix Sunday night, snow Monday morning. All of it accompanied with sustained winds of over 35mph, and winds of up to 60-80 mph during the storms. Freezing temps will return to below zero through Tuesday morning as well.
Spring is trying but winter is fighting back, and we get to watch them duke it out in one single system. It’s a wild ride we are on!

This is one of the more wild setups I've seen. On the leading edge Sunday evening, we may have line of severe storms with 70 mph winds and a few tornadoes possible. Within a few hours, we transition to potentially a fast round of moderate to heavy snowfall that also will blow, and roads could flash freeze as temps drop from the 60s to the 20s in hours.

If the cold air doesn't catch up quick enough, then the band of snow that follows after midnight will be the one to deliver us the blowing snow.

Just wild.

03/11/2026

Sooooo - after last nights events who wants to become more informed about severe weather?

You're in luck! This Saturday, from 9 am-11 am is our annual Severe Weather Spotter training in Bloomington. If you'd like to register please call our office at 309-888-5020.

Attending doesn't mean that you have to become a spotter. Have storm anxiety? Knowledge is power! 🌪️🌩️⛈️

03/11/2026

That was a short nap!

Another system heading this way, I don't think this one is gonna miss us.

03/11/2026

We know it’s frustrating with the hype and anxiety only to have the cap hold and we get left out of the action; however, this is what’s happening north of us. Kankakee has significant damage from a large tornado that is still on the ground headed to Indiana.

Our warm air cap held up, but we will still see some late night storms, just hopefully not as severe as our northern counterparts are seeing.

5” hail in Buckingham, IL. SW of Kankakee.

Kankakee county, this storm is dropping monster hail.

Photo by Landon Moeller