EF1 Tornado — Coles, Illinois

2025-03-19 · near Rardin, Coles, Illinois

Event narrative

The tornado began west of the intersection of county roads 1600N and 2000E, resulting in the destruction of a farm outbuilding and tearing siding off a nearby house. The tornado continued northeast, crossing county road 2000E and snapping a few tree trunks before dissipating. The tornado was on the ground for two minutes.

Wider weather episode

A strong low pressure system tracked towards central Illinois on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 19. Strong gradient winds produced frequent gusts of 40-55 mph across the region, but no damage was noted from these winds. Clusters of thunderstorms developed across the warm sector during the afternoon and continued into the evening, resulting in two tornadoes in the NWS Lincoln County Warning Area, along with numerous reports of wind damage and scattered hail. The tornadoes occurred in Tazewell County (EF-U) and Coles County (EF-1). Thunderstorm winds resulted in one injury in McLean County when a semi-truck was overturned on I-39. Several gustnadoes were reported during this event, as thunderstorm winds kicked up dust across unplanted fields. Additional storms developed along a dry line during the evening, producing sporadic severe wind gusts and small hail.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.6080, -88.1100)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1240557. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.