Thunderstorm Wind — Clark, Illinois

2020-04-08 · near Martinsville, Clark, Illinois

Event narrative

A gustnado on the leading edge of thunderstorms damaged power lines on the north side of Martinsville.

Wider weather episode

An approaching cold front interacted with an unstable and sheared environment to trigger a broken line of supercell thunderstorms across the Illinois River Valley during the late afternoon of April 8th. The storms tracked southeastward across central Illinois, eventually congealing into a solid line before dropping to near the I-64 corridor by late evening. Wind gusts of 60-70 mph were observed, with some of the stronger cells producing gusts in excess of 70 mph. As a result of the strong winds, widespread wind damage was reported. In addition, a few of the storms dropped hail as large as ping pong balls.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.3400, -87.8800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 884983. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.