Category: Severe Weather

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Tornadoes Strike Illinois in November

Severe weather, including   four tornado reports, struck northern Illinois on November 23, 2010. According to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center:

  • a tornado was spotted 4 miles east of Loves Park (Boone County); power lines down and debris were reported;
  • a second tornado report from 3 miles east of Loves Park (probably the same tornado) caused 3 injuries, nearly destroyed one business, and damaged other homes and a garage;
  • a tornado was spotted on the ground 2 miles northwest of Harvard (McHenry County); no damage was reported;
  • a tornado was spotted in McHenry County, right on the Illinois-Wisconsin line, 5 miles southeast of Walworth WI; apparently all the damage occurred in Wisconsin.

Besides tornadoes, high winds caused extensive damage including tree limbs and power lines down, damage to buildings, and trucks blown over. The link to the full report is here.
The NWS offices at Davenport IA and Chicago IL are conducting damage surveys. Results will be posted here:

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Tornado Tally for 2010 in Illinois

Based on data from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center, there have been 46 tornado reports in Illinois in 2010, as of September 14. These reports are based on damage at a particular site. The real number of tornadoes is often less than the first reports, as further analysis may show that the same tornado produced damage in two or more locations.
Most of the tornado activity for 2010 occurred in June with 39 reports (figure below). Many of those occurred in tornado outbreaks on June 5 (SPC report) and 21 (SPC report).
Of course, the 2010 tornado season is not over yet. The climatology of tornadoes in Illinois shows that it is possible to have tornado activity somewhere in the state all the way through December.

Illinois tornadoes 2010
Number of reported tornadoes in Illinois in 2010, as of September 14. Data courtesy of the NOAA Storm Prediction Center.

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June 5 Tornado Outbreak in Illinois

A large tornado outbreak occurred in Illinois on June 5. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center has 31 preliminary damage reports for the state (see below). In some cases a single tornado generated multiple damage reports  as it moves cross-country. At this time there appears to have been 15 confirmed tornadoes involved.
NWS offices conducted extensive damage surveys in central and northern Illinois the next day. Here are their findings:

  1. Seven confirmed tornadoes in central Illinois (Lincoln NWS office)
  2. One confirmed tornado in northwest Illinois (Davenport NWS office)
  3. Seven confirmed tornadoes in northeastern Illinois (Chicago NWS office)
SPC storm reports for June 5, 2010
NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm damage reports for June 5, 2010 (click to enlarge).
Time Location County State Lat Lon Comments
0035 3 NE ABINGDON KNOX IL 4083 9036 BRIEF TOUCHDOWN. NO DAMAGE REPORTED AT THIS TIME.(ILX)
0103 YATES CITY KNOX IL 4078 9001 POWER LINES DOWN. (ILX)
0106 ELMWOOD PEORIA IL 4078 8997 TORNADO ENTERING ELMWOOD. NO DAMAGE REPORTS AT THIS TIME. (ILX)
0110 1 E HENRY PUTNAM IL 4111 8934 FIRST TOUCHDOWN OF TORNADO AT EDGE OF SAWMILL LAKE.(DVN)
0114 2 S BRIMFIELD PEORIA IL 4081 8988 TORNADO JUST SOUTH OF ROUTE 8. (ILX)
0120 7 E HENRY PUTNAM IL 4111 8923 RELAYED VIA LINCOLN NWS(DVN)
0125 PEORIA PEORIA IL 4074 8961 TORNADO 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF THE PEORIA AIRPORT.(ILX)
0130 PEORIA PEORIA IL 4074 8961 TORNADO AT ROUTE 150 AND INTERSTATE 74. (ILX)
0130 3 W LOSTANT LA SALLE IL 4114 8912 HOMES BADLY DAMAGED AND TREES DOWN. (LOT)
0131 7 W PEORIA PEORIA IL 4074 8974 TORNADO AT HWY 116. (ILX)
0133 MAGNOLIA PUTNAM IL 4111 8920 REPORTED BETWEEN MAGNOLIA AND MC NABB MOVING EAST(DVN)
0141 2 S LOSTANT LA SALLE IL 4111 8906 NEAR INTERSECTION OF RT 18 AND INTERSTATE 39. (LOT)
0143 EAST PEORIA TAZEWELL IL 4067 8955 TORNADO AT ROUTE 24 NEAR THE ILLINOIS RIVER. (ILX)
0145 2 W STREATOR LA SALLE IL 4113 8887 NO SIGHTING OF TORNADO BUT DAMAGE SEEN. BARNS AND SILOS BLOWN OVER. DAMAGE TO ROOFS. SHEET METAL WRAPPED AROUND POLES. (LOT)
0150 STREATOR LA SALLE IL 4113 8883 2 TORNADOES ON THE GROUND. ONE WAS DUE WEST OF STREATOR. THE OTHER WAS 1 MILES WEST OF STREATOR AND WAS REPORTED 50 FEET WIDE.(LOT)
0153 2 S GERMANTOWN HILLS TAZEWELL IL 4074 8947 TORNADO AT ROUTE 116 JUST SOUTH OF ISP. (ILX)
0159 6 E STREATOR LA SALLE IL 4113 8872 (LOT)
0211 STREATOR LA SALLE IL 4113 8883 HEAVY DAMAGE IN STREATOR. PEOPLE TRAPPED IN HOMES AND TELEPHONE OUTAGES. (LOT)
0218 8 W DWIGHT LIVINGSTON IL 4110 8858 2 MILES E OF RT 170 ALONG RT. 17 (LOT)
0226 DWIGHT LIVINGSTON IL 4110 8842 STATE POLICE CONFIRMED TORNADO JUST WEST OF INTERSTATE 55 AND SOUTH OF RT. 17 (LOT)
0234 3 E DWIGHT LIVINGSTON IL 4110 8837 ILLINOIS STATE POLICE ARE FOLLOWING A TORNADO ON THE GROUND 3 MILES EAST OF DWIGHT AND 1 MILE SOUTH OF STATE HIGHWAY 17. (LOT)
0239 DWIGHT LIVINGSTON IL 4110 8842 HEAVY DAMAGE SOUTH PART OF TOWN. REPORTED BY FIRE DEPARTMENT (LOT)
0247 1 NW BUCKINGHAM KANKAKEE IL 4106 8819 17000W AND RT 115. TORNADO JUST DISSIPATED (LOT)
0256 LOSTANT LA SALLE IL 4114 8906 DELAYED REPORT. ON I-39 JUST SOUTH OF LOSTANT … SEMIS BLOWN OFF I-39 EAST INTO CORNFIELD. SEMIS WERE ESTIMATED AT SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET INTO CORNFIELD. (LOT)
0301 2 E HERSCHER KANKAKEE IL 4105 8806 ON RT 115. SPOTTER REPORTS TORNADO KEEPS TOUCHING DOWN AND LIFTING. (LOT)
0309 6 NE FAIRBURY LIVINGSTON IL 4080 8843 CORN WAS TWISTED IN A FIELD AND VENTS WERE TORN OFF A BARN ROOF. (LOT)
0313 5 SW CULLOM LIVINGSTON IL 4084 8834 (LOT)
0315 1 SE HOPEDALE TAZEWELL IL 4041 8940 TORNADO AT HOPEDALE ROAD AND OLYMPIA ROAD MOVING EAST. (ILX)
0323 2 N ST. ANNE KANKAKEE IL 4105 8772 2 TORNADOS ON GROUND. (LOT)
0355 ST. ANNE KANKAKEE IL 4102 8772 HOUSE DESTROYED AT INTERSECTION 3795S AND 6000E (LOT)
0400 2 SW BEASON LOGAN IL 4013 8923 TWO HOMES SUSTAINED MAJOR DAMAGE. (ILX)
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Central IL tornado climatology updated

The NWS office in Lincoln, IL has updated their tornado climatology for central and southeastern Illinois for the period 1950-2009. During this period McLean County reported an incredible 100 tornadoes, the highest for any county in central Illinois. However, McLean County is the biggest county in this area (a bigger county means a bigger target). This can be partially overcome by calculating a tornado density instead. In that case, Logan County ranks highest in the area with an average of 9.385 tornadoes per 100 square miles. You can click on the individual counties and get more detailed reports of that county, including tracks, dates, magnitudes, deaths, injuries, and property/crop damage of each tornado.
Here is the track map for Champaign County:

Tornado tracks, Champaign County, 1950-2009.
Tornado tracks in Champaign County, IL, 1950-2009. See the NWS report for more details.