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F2 tornado in Marion County, Illinois

Tornado April 19, 1996 · Marion County, Illinois

F2
Rating
25.0 mi
Whole path
150 yd
Path width
7
Injuries
$7.1M
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Marion County → Marion County → Clay County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 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

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.

Began near Odin (38.5800, -89.0500).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5545020. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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