F2 Tornado — Marion, Illinois

1996-04-19 · near Odin, Marion, Illinois

Wider weather episode

Marion County was declared a Federal Disaster Area as a tornado, reaching F2 strength at its peak, created a 20 mile path of destruction from south of Odin to east of Salem. The bulk of the damage occurred on the south side of the city of Salem. The tornado moved through the county Fairgrounds, destroying numerous buildings and ripping the roofs off others. Two 2-ton trucks were turned 180 degrees by the tornado. Red Cross damage assessment teams determined that 6 mobile homes and 2 homes were destroyed in the Marion area. Another 46 homes and mobile homes were damaged. At least 23 businesses in Marion were damaged, 17 in one shopping center. Power was out to over 4000 residents. Two more homes were destroyed about 5 miles east of Marion. In one of the mobile homes destroyed on the south side of Marion, a mother and her 4 year old son took the ride of their lives. They were on the couch when the tornado struck, and ended up about 100 yards away in the middle of the debris. Both escaped serious injury. Total damage was estimated between 5 and 7 million dollars. There were only 7 injuries, all minor, primarily cuts and bruises.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.5800, -89.0500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5545020. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.