EF1 Tornado — Tazewell, Illinois

2025-12-28 · near Leslie, Tazewell, Illinois

Event narrative

A tornado touched down along Allentown Road about 3 miles south-southwest of Groveland at 9:27 AM CST. The tornado tracked eastward along Allentown Road, destroying two outbuildings and snapping numerous trees. It also broke 8 power poles along Springfield Road north of its intersection with Allentown Road and caused minor roof damage further east before dissipating 2 miles south-southeast of Groveland at 9:32 AM CST.

Wider weather episode

An unseasonably warm and humid airmass was in place across central Illinois during the morning of December 28th characterized by temperatures and dewpoints in the lower 60s. As a 1000mb low over southeast Iowa and its associated cold front began pushing eastward, a cluster of severe thunderstorms developed west of the Illinois River across Fulton County, then tracked eastward across portions of Tazewell and Woodford counties before eventually weakening. This cluster of storms produced an EF-1 tornado south of Groveland in Tazewell County, as well as scattered reports of wind damage and hail up to the size of quarters.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (40.5507, -89.5554)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1305597. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.