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EF0 tornado in Washington County, Illinois

Tornado October 24, 2021 · Washington County, Illinois

EF0
Rating
2.0 mi
Path length
180 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 180 yards (0.10 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 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

This tornado touched down just north of I-64 causing primarily tree damage, but one home was damaged on Chestnut Road. The tornado traveled northeast, again primarily causing tree damage and crossed Tower Road. Damage occurred to two machine sheds just west of U.S. Highway 51 and south of Holly Road with the tornado lifting shortly thereafter. Overall, the tornado was rated EF0 with a path length of 2.05 miles and a max path width of 180 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported.

The wider storm

Numerous severe thunderstorms formed ahead of an approaching cold front across southeast Missouri during the evening hours of Sunday, October 24th, 2021. As the storms moved northeastward, they moved into a moist, energy-rich environment with substantial wind shear in the low and mid-levels. They quickly intensified, remaining somewhat isolated as they moved through southeast Missouri and into southwest Illinois. The environment was very favorable for tornadic development, and these storms produced several tornadoes and wind damage as they moved through the area. Two storms produced tornadoes that remained on the ground for significant distances. The tornado that moved through Fredericktown, MO, passing through Madison County into Perry County, was on the ground for 18.9 miles. Another tornado moved from St. Francois County through St. Genevieve County in Missouri into Randolph County in Illinois, staying on the ground for over 40 miles.

Began near Richview (38.3930, -89.2040).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 988887. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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