EF0 tornado in St. Clair County, Illinois

What was likely a very brief tornado touched down somewhere in a field just north of the community of St. Libory and lifted shortly thereafter. Damage surveys revealed that a two-door garage/shed was destroyed, but surrounding trees and homes were largely untouched aside from a tipped over RV/trailer approximately 1 mile downstream. Given the very narrow scope of the damage, and the fact that debris from the destroyed garage was strewn several hundred yards downstream, it is more likely than not that this was a brief tornado, rather than straight-line winds. The tornado was rated EF-0 with a path length of 0.45 miles and a maximum path width of 25 yards.

A line of thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front during the extreme early morning of April 19th. The line matured as it moved through Illinois, becoming severe as it entered St. Clair and Randolph counties. Damaging winds were the primary hazard as the line continued east, with nearly all reports consisting of thunderstorm wind damage. In St. Libory, isolated structural damage was found and confirmed to be tornadic in nature.