EF0 tornado in Jefferson County, Missouri

A tornado formed around 6:24pm CDT near the corner of Elm and 3rd streets on the northwest side of downtown Hillsboro, causing minor damage to the siding of the Good Shepherd Catholic Church. It continued eastward along the northern periphery of the downtown area, producing sporadic minor tree damage as it did so. When it approached Business Highway 21, the tornado damaged the facade and steeple of the First Baptist Church. Across the highway along 4th Street, the roof of the fire department building and a residence received minor damage. As the tornado moved over Vreeland Road and tracked along Sunny Lane, it briefly intensified, with several trees uprooted along the lane and minor roof damage occurring on an outbuilding. The tornado then weakened as it neared the end of Sunny Lane, dissipating in the wooded area just beyond the end of the roadway. Overall the tornado was rated EF0 with a max wind speed of 77 mph. The path length was 0.57 miles with a max path width of 200 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported.

Several strong to severe thunderstorms moved into eastern Missouri in the afternoon hours of April 15th. These storms were initially producing copious large hail, but rapidly transitioned into tornadic storms. The first tornado was associated with a supercell ahead of a congealing line of convection moving rapidly toward the Mississippi River. A portion of this line of storms rapidly surged eastward, resulting in numerous tornadoes in Jefferson county in Missouri, and Monroe, Madison, St. Clair, and Washington counties in Illinois. In total, 12 tornadoes have been identified, including 3 EF-1s, 6 EF-0s, and 3 tornadoes of unknown intensity that produced no damage.