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F3 tornado in Hancock County, Illinois

Tornado April 8, 1999 · Hancock County, Illinois

F3
Rating
7.5 mi
Path length
200 yd
Path width
$15.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 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 developed just west of Warsaw in Hancock County and produced F2 damage to homes in the south part of the community. 2 homes were destroyed while another 30 structures suffered damage, including the high school track and football field and fairgrounds. Trees and branches were blown down in many parts of town.The tornado moved northeast into Hamilton where F3 damage occurred. The tornado destroyed or damaged 144 homes and businesses amounting to 10 million dollars in total damage. 4 people suffered minor injuries. The KHQA-TV tower and KOKX radio tower were destroyed. Governor George Ryan declared Hancock County a state disaster area. The tornado weakened and lifted just northeast of Hamilton. Strong thunderstorms continued over much of Hamilton County in the wake of the tornado producing torrential rain and water over various roads in town.

Began near Warsaw (40.3500, -91.4500).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5710827. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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