EF1 tornado in Douglas County, Illinois

A tornado touched down in a field just west of mile marker 216 along I-57 at 12:46 PM CST, then tracked northeastward before dissipating 2 miles WNW of Villa Grove at 12:51 PM CST. The tornado crossed the interstate, then destroyed 3 outbuildings and damaged the roofs of 2 homes. For the next 4 miles, it moved through mainly open fields, damaging trees and power lines. The tornado dissipated about 2 miles WNW of Villa Grove when it merged with a larger tornado that was moving ENE across north-central Douglas County.

A powerful low pressure system tracked from the central Rockies toward the southern Great Lakes on November 17th. As the system approached central Illinois, unseasonably warm and humid air was pulled northward into the area, resulting in high temperatures soaring into the 70s. This very unstable airmass coupled with strong jet stream level winds aloft created numerous strong to severe thunderstorms. Many of the storms became supercells, producing damaging long-track tornadoes. A total of 10 tornadoes touched down across central Illinois, including an EF4 tornado that severely impacted the community of Washington in Tazewell County. Three people were killed and 142 others were injured as the storms tracked through the area. Total damage was estimated at 1.06 billion dollars across central Illinois.