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F1 tornado in Marion County, Illinois

Tornado April 19, 1996 · Marion County, Illinois

Rating

25.0 mi

Whole path

50 yd

Path width

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.

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The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 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 touched down in extreme east Marion County, destroying one farm house, a barn and several other farm buildings. Trees and power lines were also downed. The tornado then crossed the Clay County line and continued for another 2 miles.

Began near Salem (38.6300, -88.7500).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5545021. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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