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EF1 tornado in Scott County, Illinois

Tornado August 19, 2009 · Scott County, Illinois

EF1

Rating

15.1 mi

Whole path

200 yd

Path width

$395K

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Greene County → Scott County → Morgan County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

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 first touched down in the National Weather Service St. Louis County Warning Area (CWA) in Greene County about 3.5 miles southeast of Alsey at 110 PM CST. The tornado crossed into Scott County at 114 PM CST, then continued northeastward and crossed into Morgan County at 123 PM CST, eventually lifting in western Morgan County 3.5 miles southwest of Franklin at 135 PM CST. Severe damage occurred to a mobile home north of Manchester and widespread tree and crop damage occurred along the path of the tornado. The total length of the tornado from Greene County across Scott and Morgan counties was 18 miles.

The wider storm

A vigorous upper-level disturbance in conjunction with a warm front lifting northward through central Illinois triggered strong to severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening of August 19th. Embedded supercells within a long line of storms produced enhanced wind damage and tornadoes. Seven tornadoes touched down on August 19th, affecting parts of Scott, Morgan, Sangamon, Logan, DeWitt, McLean, and Vermilion counties. The strongest tornado was rated as an EF3 by an NWS Storm Survey as it tracked across southern Logan County. Total damages to crops and property from the 7 tornadoes were estimated to be more than $25 Million.

Began near Alsey (39.5209, -90.4011).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF3 Sangamon County EF2 Morgan County EF0 McLean County EF0 De Witt County EF0 Vermilion County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 194265. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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