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F3 tornado in Champaign County, Illinois

Tornado April 19, 1996 · Champaign County, Illinois

Rating

4.0 mi

Path length

220 yd

Path width

Injuries

$9.0M

Damage as recorded

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 220 yards (0.12 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 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.

The wider storm

A tornado briefly touched down 1 mile north of Savoy (near Rt. 45 and Curtis Road) and destroyed 3 homes under construction. Then the tornado lifted, travelled to the northeast, and touched down again 1 mile south of Urbana. The tornado destroyed 30 homes, caused moderate damage to 29 homes and one business, and minor damage to 54 homes and 4 businesses. Twelve people were injured and damage was estimated between $7 and $11 million.

Began near Savoy (40.0700, -88.2500).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5543904. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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