A series of severe storms triggered tornado warnings and tornado watches in much of central and northern Illinois on March 19, moving out of the area by late evening. The storms caused a smattering of power outages in northwest Indiana and widespread damage across the Chicagoland area.

Arkadelphia's tornado sirens have been around for more than 50 years. There are three in the town and two are now costing the city thousands of dollars, according to Mayor Scott Byrd.