EF2 tornado in Edwards County, Illinois

The tornado crossed into Edwards County from Wayne County. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. A new addition to a house was destroyed. An attached garage was destroyed, with two vehicles turned 180 degrees. Two 100-year-old barns were totally destroyed. Several 100-year-old trees were snapped or uprooted. Other residences in the area sustained minor damage. The estimated peak winds in this tornado were 130 mph. The maximum intensity was attained just west of Illinois Route 130, almost due north of Albion. A second shorter track EF-2 tornado occurred simultaneously just south of this tornado. Both tornadoes were witnessed on the ground at the same time. This tornado was spawned by the same supercell that produced the EF-2 tornado that tracked from Sims to Fairfield in Wayne County.

Supercell thunderstorms developed along a pre-frontal low pressure trough over Missouri and then moved east across southern Illinois. Very strong wind fields coupled with moderate amounts of instability resulted in several supercell thunderstorms, some of which produced tornadoes. The storms moved through the warm sector of a low pressure system characterized by mixed-layer capes around 1000 j/kg. Southerly surface winds transported rich low-level moisture north of the Ohio River, with dew points in the mid 60's. Areas of partial sunshine immediately preceding the convection bolstered instability. The low level wind shear was very strong, with 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity at or above 500. Strong southerly surface winds ahead of the storms gusted to around 45 mph from Mount Vernon to Carbondale during the midday hours.