TornadoLookup

Home / Illinois / Sangamon

EF1 tornado in Sangamon County, Illinois

Tornado March 8, 2009 · Sangamon County, Illinois

EF1
Rating
5.1 mi
Path length
200 yd
Path width
2
Injuries
$610K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 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

The tornado initially touched down in a field 6 miles southwest of Loami, then tracked northeastward and dissipated about 1 mile north of Loami. Several houses were damaged and numerous sheds and outbuildings were destroyed along the path of the tornado. Considerable tree damage was also observed. Two people were injured, including a woman who was struck by flying debris in her home and a man who was inside his barn when it collapsed.

The wider storm

A cold front raced through the region during the afternoon of March 8th, producing strong to severe thunderstorms. The storms spawned three tornadoes across central and southeast Illinois, as well as numerous reports of wind damage.

Began near Prouty (39.6511, -89.9269).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Wayne CountyEF1 Lawrence County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 157470. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.