EF0 tornado in Peoria County, Illinois

A tornado touched down 4 miles northwest of Peoria just northwest of the intersection of Richwoods Boulevard and Molleck Drive at 8:05 PM CDT. Damage was done to the roof, gutters, soffit, and ceiling tiles of the St. Francis Woods Supportive Living Center. The tornado intermittently touched down along a path to the northeast through the city of Peoria. Damage was done to roofs and trees near University and Christine, the Farmer's Market at the Metro Centre shopping facility, and trees at the Donovan Golf Course. The tornado broke a pole, snapped a tree that fell into a garage, and damaged shingles and siding in Peoria Heights on Prospect and Wickwood Roads. The tornado then dissipated 1 mile northwest of Peoria Heights before it approached Forest Park at 8:14 PM CDT.

An area of low pressure deepened considerably as it tracked from northeast Missouri into southern Wisconsin on March 15th. While the airmass ahead of this system across central Illinois remained capped for much of the day, an approaching upper trough helped weaken the cap and set the stage for scattered severe thunderstorms ahead of an approaching cold front during the evening of the 15th. Several clusters of thunderstorms moved across west-central Illinois, mainly along and west of I-55. The first cluster tracked from just north of Quincy toward the Peoria area, while a second cluster impacted locations from Jacksonville to Springfield. Thanks to moderate instability and strong low-level wind shear near the low track, many of the storms rotated and produced large hail and tornadoes. A total of 4 tornadoes touched down, including an EF-2 just northwest of Trivoli in Peoria County.