F2 tornado in Massac County, Illinois
Tornado May 6, 2003 · Massac County, Illinois
The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.
What the National Weather Service wrote
The roofs of several houses were severely damaged or blown off. One business was destroyed. Several barns and outbuildings were destroyed. Numerous large trees were blown down, along with seven power poles. Peak winds were estimated near 125 MPH. The damage path began due north of Metropolis and crossed Illinois Route 145 about 7 miles north-northeast of Metropolis. Route 145 and several smaller roads were closed due to large trees blown across them. This damage was located in nearly the exact location where damaging thunderstorm winds occurred about 48 hours earlier, on the evening of May 4.
The wider storm
The deadliest and most destructive storm of the night tracked within 10 miles of the Ohio River across extreme southern Illinois. The storm produced a 33-mile long tornado that killed two and injured about 33. A small but very damaging downburst occurred several miles south of the tornado track. A swath of large hail occurred north of the tornado track. Hailstones up to 2 inches in diameter were reported at and near the intersection of Highways 145 and 147, near the community of Glendale in Pope County.
Began near Metropolis (37.3167, -88.9333).
Other tornadoes from the same storm system
2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5352786. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.
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