EF1 Tornado — Woodford, Illinois

2024-07-15 · near Germantown, Woodford, Illinois

Event narrative

This tornado began one mile southeast of Germantown Hills in a wooded subdivision along Woodford Way, producing tree damage to multiple trees. The tornado continued to the southeast through a newer subdivision along Tazewood Road. It damaged multiple trees on one property at the end of Olivia Court, and resulted in damage to siding and a hole in the roof. This house also had one window blown in on the back side of the house. The tornado continued southeast, uprooting two trees at the corner of Tazewood and Nofsinger Road as it continued into Tazewell County. The tornado dissipated briefly after crossing the county line. The damage produced by this tornado was rated EF-1 in both Woodford and Tazewell counties.

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 → (40.7530, -89.4480)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1200025. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.