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F1 tornado in Jefferson County, Illinois

Tornado April 21, 2002 · Jefferson County, Illinois

Rating

31.5 mi

Whole path

100 yd

Path width

Death

Injuries

$4.0M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Jefferson County → Wayne County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The tornado formed about one-half mile north of Illinois Route 15, just west of the Wayne/Jefferson County line, and moved quickly into Wayne County.

Began near Bluford (38.3500, -88.7333).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5293472. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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