EF1 Tornado — Knox, Illinois

2024-07-15 · near Williamsfield, Knox, Illinois

Event narrative

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.

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.9600, -90.0200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1200018. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.