Illinois, 1998

Tornado in Illinois, April 29, 1998

April 29, 1998 · NWS ILX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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
$35,000
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.

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:00 UTC.

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Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, McLean

When
April 29, 3:58 PM CST to 4:02 PM CST
Where
McLean County, Ellsworth to 2 mi NW of Ellsworth
Rating
F0
Path length
3 mi
Path width
35 yd
Property damage
$35,000
Coordinates
40.430, -88.750

A tornado touched down 2 miles west southwest of Ellsworth. It uprooted one 2 foot diameter tree and broke off two others several feet above the ground. One of the trees fell across the front porch of a house and onto a nearby shed, destroying both. A garage behind the house was destroyed with debris carried 300 yards out onto an adjacent field. Also, a few windows were blown out and some shingles were blown off of the house. As the tornado travelled north northeast, it picked up a 20 foot by 20 foot section of a tin barn roof and carried it to the west about 20 feet. From there the tornado skipped along the path with only spotty damage. A 2 foot diameter tree was broken off several feet above the base 1 mile northwest of Ellsworth before the tornado lifted and dissipated. No injuries were reported and damage was estimated around $35,000.

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

More

Every storm in Illinois in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 1998Warnings in Illinois, April 1998

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: 5641650.