Hail Threat Today

Update 11:03am CDT,  the radar at 10:55 shows intensifying thunderstorms over the region of the watch (below). Note: I will not be live-blogging this weather system.

Update 9:45am CDT, a severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for the region with a "high" probability of winds of 60 mph or more. Time to bring in the lawn furniture, trampolines, etc.

Original post:

An exceptionally large hail is threatened by hail 1" or larger today. Generally, the significant threshold is 15%, the red shaded area is 30%. The hatched are is where hail 2" or larger is possible.

At 8:15am, a severe thunderstorm warning is out in west central Illinois (yellow polygon) and thunderstorms with heavy rains and gusty winds are occurring in much of Missouri and downstate Illinois.