Tornado in Illinois, April 19, 1996

Name: Tornado in Illinois, April 19, 1996
Start: 1996-04-19T17:17
End: 1996-04-19T17:30
Location: Illinois

April 19, 1996 · NWS ILX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A tornado touched down 2 miles west southwest of Easton and travelled to the northeast. The tornado destroyed 1 home as it moved along the northwest side of Easton.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS ILX wrote it up.

A tornado touched down 2 miles west southwest of Easton and travelled to the northeast. The tornado destroyed 1 home as it moved along the northwest side of Easton. It then lifted 3.5 miles to the northeast of Easton before touching down one mile later. It remained on the ground for 3 more miles, before lifting and dissipating. In all, two homes were destroyed, 5 sustained major damage, and the windows were blown out and the roof lifted up on the high school. Also, numerous power lines and trees were blown down. One barn and one home were lifted off their foundations. No injuries were reported and no damage estimate was available.

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 46 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:14 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Mason

When: April 19, 5:17 PM CST to 5:30 PM CST
Where: Mason County, Easton to 2 mi NE of Easton
Rating: F1
Path length: 9 mi
Path width: 250 yd
Coordinates: 40.220, -89.870

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Illinois in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Illinois, 1996 Warnings in Illinois, April 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5543908.