EF1 tornado in Madison County, Illinois

Intermittent, low end tornado damage was found on a path from just north of Saint Jacob, IL eastward into the Highland, IL area. The tornado first touched down north of Saint Jacob, IL along Marine Road where it toppled several trees and partially tore the roof off a large metal shed. The tornado then likely lifted briefly, but then touched down again intermittently along Lake Road. The tornado did minor roof and siding damage to many homes along Lake Road, as well as topple several trees and snapped a power line. The worst of the damage, which was rated EF-1, was to a large metal shed that was destroyed and the roof was lofted into nearby trees and pushed hundreds of feet down the street. In addition, a 2x4 from this roof was driven straight into the roof of a nearby building. The tornado then likely lifted briefly, before touching down again and doing additional damage to large trees in a neighborhood along 15th and 16th Streets. The tornado then lifted and dissipated. Overall the tornado was rated EF1 with a path length of 5.29 miles and a max path width of 700 yards. No injuries or deaths were reported.

A cold front swept through the region on March 27th. The low level forcing along the front, increasing upper level ascent downstream of an approaching shortwave, and at least modest moisture and instability were sufficient to generate thunderstorms as the front moved through the region. There were numerous reports of large hail and damaging winds as well as one tornado.