EF1 Tornado — Alexander, Illinois

2025-03-30 · near Fayville, Alexander, Illinois

Event narrative

An EF-1 tornado began near the Mississippi River a mile northwest of Fayville, and moved east northeast. The tornado uprooted or snapped the trunks of dozens of trees and toppled an irrigation pivot. It moved into Pulaski County just northeast of Sandusky. The estimated peak wind was 105 mph. The total path length of the tornado was around 18 miles. A large area of 70-90 mph straight line winds swept just south of the tornado and eventually overtook it as it moved east of Interstate 57 in Pulaski County.

Wider weather episode

In the base of an approaching upper-level trough, strong mid and upper-level jets overspread the middle Mississippi Valley on the afternoon of the 30th. Steep mid-level lapse rates contributed to rapid destabilization, as well, setting the stage for a widespread severe thunderstorm event. As the cold front approached, thunderstorms rapidly intensified and quickly formed into line segments upon reaching southern Illinois in the mid-afternoon. Large hail was common through the late afternoon in areas west of Interstate 57 and north of Highway 13. Quarter size to golf ball size hail was reported over much of this area. Then the storms formed into a larger line and produced damaging winds. During this transition, one storm produced an EF-1 tornado that moved east across central portions of Alexander and Pulaski Counties. Widespread 70-90mph winds swept along just south of the tornado and eventually overtook it.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.1818, -89.4448)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1247335. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.