EF1 tornado in Montgomery County, Illinois

Tornado March 15, 2026 · Montgomery County, Illinois

EF1

Rating

13.4 mi

Whole path

300 yd

Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Macoupin County → Montgomery County → Montgomery County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A tornado touched down near Niemanville Trail and trekked northeast, producing mostly tree damage in its path. At its strongest the tornado was able to produce minor damage to farm outbuildings and break wooden power poles. The tornado dissipated just east of East 8th Road.

The wider storm

During the afternoon and evening of March 15th, a QLCS moved through southern and south-central Illinois. Stronger segments of the QLCS produced wind damage across the region. The QLCS ended up producing 8 tornadoes while it passed through the region.

Began near Walshville (39.1019, -89.6611).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

6 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF1 St. Clair County EF1 Montgomery County EF1 Montgomery County EF1 Montgomery County EF1 Clinton County EF0 Monroe County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1325689. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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