EF3 Tornado — Sangamon, Illinois

2009-08-19 · near Williamsville, Sangamon, Illinois

Event narrative

The tornado touched down on the west side of Williamsville, just west of I-55, at 319 PM CST. It destroyed an antique mall, damaged the Casey's gas station building and collapsed the canopy over the gas pumps. One person was injured at the mall, while 2 motorcyclists were injured when they were thrown from their bikes. The tornado moved northeast through Williamsville and hit a church, throwing a 2-horse trailer onto the roof and collapsing the roof over half of the building. One person inside the church was injured. The tornado continued through the northern portion of town, causing damage to numerous trees and several homes. Two homes lost their roof and several others lost a portion of their roof. The tornado also caved in the southern end of a metal building, part of an agricultural business on the edge of town. A total of 12 additional people were injured by tornado debris in the town of Williamsville. The width of the tornado through town ranged from 100 to 150 yards. The maximum wind speed of 135 mph (EF2) in Williamsville was determined from the damage to the church. A total of 10 houses were destroyed and 35 houses damaged in Williamsville. A total of six businesses and non-residential properties were destroyed.

The tornado continued east-northeast and flattened cornfields, damaged farm outbuildings and machine sheds, and damaged homes, garages, and vehicles on Lester Rd. Two houses were completely destroyed, and four others had extensive damage, as the tornado widened to 600 yards at this point. A 19-month-old baby was injured as the family home was hit by the tornado.

The maximum wind speed at this point was estimated at 140 mph (EF3). The tornado continued through fields, causing extensive crop damage, until crossing into Logan County around 326 PM CST. Path length through Sangamon County was 4.5 miles.

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.9555, -89.5611)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 194892. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.