Tornado, McHenry
- When
- May 19, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- McHenry County, Union
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 0.8 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Coordinates
- 42.230, -88.530
Tornado in Illinois, May 19, 1996
A small tornado touched down briefly between Union and Marengo in McHenry County. Two to three foot diameter trees were uprooted.
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
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 LOT wrote it up.
A small tornado touched down briefly between Union and Marengo in McHenry County. Two to three foot diameter trees were uprooted. As many as 12 to 24 outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. Fences were torn up and debris was found 3/4 mile away.
The radar
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:01 UTC.
Event by event
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Heat in Pennsylvania, May 19 to 21, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, May 19, 1996
- Hail in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Minnesota, May 19, 1996
More
Every storm in Illinois in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 1996Warnings in Illinois, May 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: 5545141.