Thunderstorm Wind — Clay, Illinois

2023-08-06 · near Ingraham, Clay, Illinois

Event narrative

The roof of a house suffered significant damage.

Wider weather episode

A vigorous short-wave trough interacted with an approaching low pressure system and associated warm frontal boundary to trigger clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms across west-central Illinois during the late afternoon of August 6th. Due to enhanced low-level wind shear along and north of the warm front, many of the cells began rotating and spinning up occasional funnel clouds. One of the cells intensified as it pushed into Sangamon County, producing a long-track tornado that was on the ground for over 25 miles from just north of Pawnee in far southeastern Sangamon County to southeast of Stonington in Christian County. The tornado produced EF-1 damage along much of its path, peaking with EF-2 damage just south of Willeys in Christian County. This particular thunderstorm cell dropped 2-inch diameter hail north of Taylorville and went on to produce a downburst with 80 mph wind gusts in far eastern Shelby County near Lake Mattoon. The storms eventually congealed into a line as they pushed into eastern Illinois later in the evening, with scattered wind damage, hail, and flash flooding.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.8300, -88.3300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1130583. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.