EF1 tornado in Wayne County, Illinois

Intermittent damage was observed along the path of this tornado, which contained peak winds near 100 mph. Most of the damage was tree damage. Some trees were snapped and uprooted. Two structures were damaged, including a mobile home that was not tied down. The mobile home was rolled while a man was inside. He suffered broken ribs. The other damaged structure was a 40-by-60 foot storage shed. About one third of the shed was blown over a storage barn into a house, causing significant damage to the house. Debris was blown into a field across the street. A power pole was blown down. The tornado was witnessed about four miles north of Sims in the middle of a field. It was described as a black rotating cloud.

A strong 500 mb shortwave moved rapidly northeast from the Plains during the day. The shortwave became a closed low over the Great Lakes region by the evening hours. In the lower levels, a strong southwest 850 mb jet from 60 to 65 knots shifted east from the Ozarks across southern Illinois. These features provided sufficient shear and instability for a significant tornado.