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EF1 tornado in Adams County, Illinois

Tornado April 15, 2026 · Adams County, Illinois

EF1

Rating

0.7 mi

Path length

50 yd

Path width

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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 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 brief tornado touched down east of County Road 2150 just north of Highway 61 in Adams County. The tornado tracked parallel to Highway 61 where it caused significant damage to several small farm outbuildings and to one home. As it moved east, it damaged mostly trees. The tornado dissipated just after crossing Bigneck Creek.

The wider storm

Scattered thunderstorms developed in an environment favorable for organized updrafts. Although the majority of the activity stayed well to the south of Adams County, one cell did pass through the area where it produced a brief tornado.

Began near Bigneck (40.1371, -91.0913).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1331457. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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