F1 tornado — Coles County, Illinois

F1 tornado in Coles County, Illinois

Tornado September 26, 2003 · Coles County, Illinois

Rating

1.5 mi

Path length

250 yd

Path width

Injury

$10.0M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 250 yards (0.14 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

A tornado touched down 4 miles north northeast of Mattoon near a printing plant. It then traveled east damaging several buildings at the plant. Almost 500,000 square feet of the roof was damaged or destroyed. Contents in the buildings including electronic equipment and over 5 million pounds of paper were damaged. With over 400 employees in the plant at the time of the tornado, only one person suffered minor injuries but didn't need immediate medical attention. After hitting the plant, the tornado damaged some outbuildings at a nearby farm before lifting and dissipating. Damage to the plant was estimated around $10 million.

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5338041. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

F1 tornado in Coles County, Illinois

What the National Weather Service wrote

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

Tornadoes near your address