Tornado warning issued for Ohio Valley — Check areas facing highest risk

A tornado warning is in place across the Midwest through Thursday night (local time) as a potent storm is expected to spark a round of severe thunderstorms in many parts of the Ohio Valley.

According to AccuWeather, during this period, all modes of severe weather will be possible — including the strongest storms with high wind gusts, hail, and torrential downpours that could even lead to flash flooding.

Areas facing highest risk

A tornado watch is in place for parts of Indiana, Kentucky, including Louisville, and Illinois until Thursday at 9 pm ET.

Most of the severe weather into Thursday night will extend from Illinois and Indiana to central Ohio, much of Kentucky, and part of West Virginia, AccuWeather reported.

The strongest storms are most likely around Louisville, Kentucky, and near Indianapolis.

Some thunder and lightning will likely extend farther northeast into parts of southern Michigan, northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania Thursday night.

Is this the first thunderstorm of the year in Ohio?

This will be the first thunderstorm of the year for some locations in the Ohio Valley, according to AccuWeather. A few dozen severe weather reports came from the Mississippi Valley and western New York on January 8-9, but left parts of the Midwest without severe weather.

Level 3 storm threat issued

According to Fox Weather, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a level 3 of 5 severe storm threat for portions of Illinois and Indiana.

This is the first Level 3 threat in nearly 5 months and the highest severe storm threat in 2026 thus far. Other areas remain under a Level 2 out of 5 threat.

The SPC said that the potential tornadoes could reach EF-2 or stronger.

However, AccuWeather noted that, despite enough warm air, moisture, and lift in the atmosphere to support some thunderstorms in the Southeastern and mid-Atlantic states on Friday, most are expected to be significant but remain below severe limits.

Fox Weather said the dew points in the upper 50s to low 60s are expected to move northward toward the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers by Thursday evening.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said that long-lived, multi-hour supercells are possible, which could support the risk of strong tornadoes.

“The real key through the morning will be watching to determine when storms transition from elevate to surface-based. Once they become surface-based, the threat will increase. That is expected to occur sometime between 11 am. and 1 p.m.,” NWS St. Louis said.

These storms are expected to weaken after dark as they move into the mid-to upper Ohio Valley and encounter a more stable environment.