Illinois, 1999

Tornado in Illinois, April 5, 1999

April 5, 1999 · NWS PAH · 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
1
Property damage
$10,000
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 Paducah radar (KPAH), 12 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:19 UTC.

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Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Massac

When
April 5, 5:20 PM CST
Where
Massac County, 4 mi NW of Metropolis
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
40 yd
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
37.180, -88.780

A weak tornado briefly touched down in the vicinity of U.S. 45 between Joppa and Metropolis. The tornado occurred just outside of a coal terminal. A 9-by-9 foot guard shack on the coal terminal property was destroyed when the roof was blown off followed by the walls collapsing. A guard inside the shack was treated at a hospital for cuts caused by flying glass. A house across the street had very minor structural damage on its east side, with debris blown from the north to the west side of the house. The tornado was likely at tree-top level. A coal terminal worker reported seeing a "funnel." This tornado was associated with a severe thunderstorm complex that originated over the Mississippi River counties of western Kentucky and moved northeast.

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 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 1999Warnings in Illinois, April 1999

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: 5686052.