Tornadoes in Illinois, April 8, 1999

The tornado first touched down half a mile northeast of Sinclair (Morgan County). As it travelled to the northeast, it flipped over a mobile home and destroyed a barn near Yatesville. Nearby two outbuildings and a hog shelter were destroyed. As it approached Prentice, the tornado destroyed a small shed and carried parts of the shed over a nearby house then across the road to a field beyond, about 300 yards away. Windows on the house were blown out. As it continued to the northeast scouring marks could be seen in a field 1 mile southwest of Ashland (Cass County). The tornado entered Ashland on the southwest side of town around 851 PM CDT. It hit a trailer park, destroying 17 trailers and damaging 20. One woman was trapped under her mobile home for several hours. However, she died before they could pull her out. Six other people sustained injuries. As it travelled northeast through town, it destroyed one home, as well as, a city garage, and severely damaged 16 homes, a church, laundromat, and several brick buildings downtown. As it exited town it hit a grain elevator. However, the elevator appears to have broken up the tornado's circulation and no damage was reported to the elevator. North of Highway 125, it appears that the circulation became organized again, but much weaker. Plenty of debris from town was found in the field north of the highway. During a helicopter survey, scouring was evident in the field with the scouring marks splitting into two separate circulations, one going north northeast and the other more east northeast. After a short distance, about half a mile, both of the circulations dissipated. Damage in Ashland was estimated around $1,750,000.