EF1 tornado in St. Clair County, Illinois

A tornado touched down half a mile northeast of Paderborn in southwestern St. Clair County and moved east southeastward towards the Sportsman Lake Subdivision. Two power poles were snapped on Knab Road while six homes at the lake sustained minor roof damage in which 30 to 40 percent of the shingles were removed. A number of medium to large trees were uprooted or snapped along the damage track in this subdivision. The tornado lifted and dissipated on the far south side of the subdivision near Live Oak Drive. The maximum intensity was EF1, with a maximum estimated wind speed of 100 mph. The maximum width of the tornado was 60 to 80 yards and the total path length was 1.75 miles.

A strong cold front moved through region. With plenty of moisture, instability and decent low level shear, severe storms developed along the Interstate 70 corridor in Missouri and Illinois. Numerous reports of large hail and 5 tornadoes occurred with this event. One of the tornadoes was a long track one that moved through the St. Louis metropolitan area with it being rated an EF4, with only a few minor injuries and no deaths. Also, quite a bit of rain fell during this event and caused flash flooding. The flash flooding persisted for several days as additional rounds of heavy rain fell over the same region through the 26th of April.