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EF1 tornado in Warren County, Illinois

Tornado July 16, 2015 · Warren County, Illinois

EF1
Rating
1.4 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
$2K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

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 EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

Tornado strength rating of EF-1. Maximum estimated wind of 90 MPH. Tornado path length of 1.41 miles. Tornado path maximum width of 50 yards. Tornado start time roughly 649 PM CDT. Tornado path start location roughly 2.4 MILES north of Smithshire IL. Tornado end time of roughly 651 PM CDT. Tornado path end location of 1.9 miles South of Kirkwood IL. Trees and outbuildings damaged and a semi blown over on Highway 34.

The wider storm

A wave on a northward moving warm front produced scattered thunderstorms along the boundary. Low level shear was favorable for severe weather and tornadoes.

Began near Smithshire (40.8338, -90.7720).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

4 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 Warren CountyEF1 Henderson CountyEF1 Rock Island CountyEF0 Whiteside County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 597132. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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