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EF0 tornado in Mercer County, Illinois

Tornado April 17, 2026 · Mercer County, Illinois

EF0
Rating
0.9 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 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 brief EF0 tornado passed through Viola, IL, with maximum winds around 85 mph. Much of the damage noted along the short path was done to trees, uprooting and snapping some, with tree tops also sheared off others. Some structural damage was noted in town, where half of a house roof was uplifted with insulation scattered along the tornado path. Damage was also done to the north side of a business's brick facade.

The wider storm

Numerous severe storms tracked across eastern IA, northwest IL, and northeast MO during the afternoon and evening of April 17. Widespread wind gusts between 60-80 mph (isolated 80-100 mph), large hail up to teacup size, and several tornadoes were reported.

The most significant damage occurred in Lena, IL where many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees uprooted, and power lines downed by an EF2 tornado. Very strong straight-line winds also were documented in parts of the area.

Began near Viola (41.2000, -90.6000).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Stephenson CountyEF2 McDonough CountyEF1 Hancock CountyEF1 Hancock CountyEF1 Bureau CountyEF1 Jo Daviess CountyEF1 Henry County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1330581. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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