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EF1 tornado in Knox County, Illinois

Tornado July 15, 2024 · Knox County, Illinois

EF1
Rating
1.2 mi
Path length
150 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

This short tornado touched down two miles north of Williamsfield, west of North State Route 180, and moved southeast for one mile while producing significant tree damage along Route 180 and in the field to the east. Many of the trees were blocking Route 180. The tornado lifted just south of County Road 1660 North.

The wider storm

On the evening of July 15, 2024, a derecho brought very strong winds, several tornadoes, and heavy rainfall to a good portion of the Midwest. Thunderstorms initiated over central Iowa during the late afternoon hours then quickly spread east-southeast through southern Wisconsin, the northern half of Illinois, southern Michigan, and the northern/central Indiana. The event produced significant tree damage, some structural damage, and 10 tornadoes within the NWS Lincoln County Warning Area, most of which were rated EF-0 or EF-1. Back building of storms into the morning of July 16, 2024, brought very heavy rainfall and flash flooding near and south of a Galesburg to Sullivan line. The heaviest rain fell over Fulton and Mason counties where 4-8 was reported, necessitating some road closures and producing damage to roadways in Fulton County. One indirect death occurred in Peoria County as part of this thunderstorm event.

Began near Williamsfield (40.9600, -90.0200).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

9 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1200018. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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