TornadoLookup

Home / Illinois / Marion

EF1 tornado in Marion County, Illinois

Tornado April 19, 2011 · Marion County, Illinois

EF1
Rating
0.4 mi
Path length
75 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 75 yards (0.04 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

A tornado touched down approximately 1 mile east of the Centralia Municipal Airport, west of Moonglow Road and south of Illinois Route 161. Several large healthy trees were uprooted in this area and a convergent pattern was found. A house on the southwest corner of Moonglow Road and Illinois Route 161 sustained EF1 damage when the roof of an attached workshop or garage on the south side of the house was uplifted and thrown to the northwest. At least one 2x4 was driven into the roof on the north side of the house. A house on the southeast corner of Moonglow Rd. and Illinois Route 161 sustained minor roof damage. A trampoline on the south side of this house was blown back to the northwest and was found on the north side of Illinois Route 161. Debris was scattered into a field on the northwest corner of Moonglow Road and Illinois Route 161. As the tornado travelled to the northeast, it crossed Illinois Route 161 and damaged the east facing side of a small outbuilding on the northeast corner of Moonglow Road and Illinois Route 161. Further to the northeast, a new pole barn located east of Moonglow Road and south of Firewood Lane collapsed. Then the tornado lifted and dissipated. The total length of this tornado was about 0.4 miles with a maximum width of 50 to 75 yards. Maximum damage was rated EF1 with winds of 95 mph.

The wider storm

A warm front was lifting northward through the region, triggering numerous showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms produced tornadoes as well as a lot of large hail. There were 6 tornadoes with this event, including an EF3.

Began near Centralia Muni Arpt (38.5233, -89.0708).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF3 Macoupin CountyEF2 Montgomery CountyEF2 Montgomery County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 308593. 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.