EF1 Tornado — Coles, Illinois

2025-03-14 · near Dorans, Coles, Illinois

Event narrative

A tornado began near county roads 1100N and 500E, approximately 3.5 miles north of Mattoon. It snapped 11 power poles, strewing debris into the field to the east-northeast. The tornado tracked east-northeast, but quickly dissipated about one mile west of US Route 45.

Wider weather episode

A potent low pressure system progressed across the Midwest on Friday, March 14, 2025. Ahead of this system, temperatures soared nearly 30 degrees above normal with high temperatures reaching the low 80s across central Illinois. Into the evening and overnight hours, a cold front swept across Illinois, with a line of severe thunderstorms developing ahead of the front. These storms produced widespread damaging straight-line winds and eight tornadoes within the NWS Lincoln County Warning Area, all of which occurred in eastern Illinois. Two of these tornadoes were rated EF-2: one in Moultrie and Piatt counties, and another in Cumberland and Coles counties. The latter of these resulted in two injuries.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.5350, -88.3800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1240152. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.