F2 tornado in Jackson County, Illinois

This tornado crossed the Mississippi River from Perry County, Missouri. The tornado weakened from its maximum F-4 intensity to F-2 intensity by the time it entered Jackson County in the Mississippi River bottomlands near Wilkinson Island. At this location, the wall of an old two-story farmhouse was blown out, and the roof was blown off. Hundreds of trees were broken off. Tree damage was visible across the river in Perry County, Missouri. The path width was estimated to be 200 yards wide on the Jackson County side of the river. Before reaching Illinois Route 3, the F-2 tornado widened to 250 yards and destroyed a mobile home. A resident of the mobile home was sent to the hospital. Nearby, a house was unroofed, and trees were snapped or uprooted. Another house lost a room that was added on. A swing set was blown 200 yards and wrapped around a mailbox. An empty tractor trailer rig was overturned. An empty grain bin was blown 100 yards into a field. Full grain bins were severely damaged but remained in place. The roof was blown off a brick house. As the tornado crossed Route 3, high tension utility poles were snapped off, hundreds of acres of corn were flattened, and trees were uprooted. Route 3 was closed for nine hours. From Route 3, the tornado proceeded east-northeast through mostly rural areas of the county, including the Kinkaid Lake State Wildlife Area. The tornado weakened to F-0 intensity before reaching Kinkaid Lake. At the Kinkaid Lake marina, about 50 RV's and boats were damaged, and trees were broken off. The tornado finally lifted shortly after crossing Highway 127 north of Murphysboro. The damage along Highway 127 was about 75 yards wide and consisted of broken tree limbs. A state trooper videotaped the tornado before it lifted. Storm chasers also videotaped the tornado. Peak winds where F-2 damage occurred in western Jackson County were estimated near 150 MPH. The average path width was about 150 yards. A total of about six homes were destroyed or severely damaged, and a dozen others were damaged to a lesser degree. Dozens of other non-residential buildings, such as garages, sheds, barns, and carports, were destroyed. Along the path, striations were evident in fields, and scores of utility poles were snapped off. There were numerous reports of debris falling from the sky in neighboring Perry County, Illinois. Debris as large as pieces of siding and roofing was reported in Du Quoin.