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EF1 Tornado — Union, Illinois

2025-05-20 · near Mt Pleasant, Union, Illinois

$80K

Property damage

1.8 mi

Path length

50 yds

Path width

Event narrative

An EF1 tornado touched down along Hwy 146 approximately 6.5 miles northeast of Dongola. It uprooted and snapped several trees along with causing some minor shingle and siding damage to a few homes. Peak winds were 100 mph and max width was 50 yards along its approximately 2 mile long path as it tracked to the east-northeast before lifting just before reaching Mount Pleasant.

Wider weather episode

A squall line pushed eastward overnight across the warm sector of a low pressure system in Iowa. A surging portion of the line produced wind damage in portions of Southern Illinois, including the formation of a brief tornado in eastern Union County. MLCAPE was around 1000-1500J/kg, effective bulk shear was 40-50kts, and 0-3km SRH was 200-300m2/s2, with dewpoints in the mid to upper 60s.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.4442, -89.1126)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1272625. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.