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EF1 tornado in Jefferson County, Illinois

Tornado March 8, 2009 · Jefferson County, Illinois

EF1

Rating

2.3 mi

Path length

150 yd

Path width

$60K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 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 roof was partially blown off a school. At several properties, large and small equipment sheds were destroyed. Shingle and siding damage occurred at several homes. Trees were topped and uprooted. Carports were knocked over. Peak winds were estimated at 95 mph.

The wider storm

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.

Began near Texico (38.4328, -88.8674).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Wayne County EF1 Wayne County EF0 Jefferson County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 158588. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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