F3 Tornado — Massac, Illinois

2006-09-22 · near Metropolis Muni Arpt, Massac, Illinois

Event narrative

This tornado, which contained peak winds near 160 MPH, struck between Joppa and the Metropolis airport. The damage path started about a mile from the Ohio River, where F-1 winds uprooted numerous trees. As the tornado crossed U.S. Highway 45 near Joppa Road, a barn was destroyed. The tornado then strengthened to F-3 intensity, destroying a log home. The roof and an exterior wall of the well-constructed log home were blown about one-half mile. Another house nearby sustained major damage. Four mobile homes were destroyed, along with garages and outbuildings. Part of a double wide mobile home blew into a church sanctuary. Six vehicles were tossed up to 100 yards. At least one of the vehicles landed in a pond. The only two persons injured were residents of a destroyed mobile home. The worst of the injuries was a broken arm. Hundreds of trees were broken or uprooted, and numerous trees fell on cars. Numerous power poles were downed. A seriously injured dog was found in a ditch one quarter mile away. The most intense damage, where vehicles were tossed, occurred about two-thirds of the way along the damage path near Red Oak Road. The tornado was witnessed by the general public. The average path width was 100 yards.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.2000, -88.8000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5534665. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.