Tornado, Livingston
- When
- May 18, 5:00 PM CST
- Where
- Livingston County, Fairbury
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 40.750, -88.517
Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Illinois, May 18, 2000
Several supercell storms moved through southeast Livingston, Ford and northern Iroquois Counties, then more storms developed and moved through southern Ford County. There were several reports of tornadoes on the ground in rural areas but no damage was reported.
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
- 7
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.
Several supercell storms moved through southeast Livingston, Ford and northern Iroquois Counties, then more storms developed and moved through southern Ford County. There were several reports of tornadoes on the ground in rural areas but no damage was reported. The first sighting was near Faibury, relayed by State Police. Later a tornado was reported near Chatsworth by a trained spotter. Storms blew down trees in Papineau. State police reported a tornado west of Ashkum. A tornado was reported near Gibson City by a spotter. Later another tornado was reported by emergency management south of Gibson City. Another sighting was southwest of Paxton by State Police. No damage was reported with any of the tornadoes.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
6 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Livingston
- When
- May 18, 5:45 PM CST
- Where
- Livingston County, Chatsworth
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.750, -88.283
Thunderstorm Wind, Iroquois
- When
- May 18, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Iroquois County, Papineau
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 40.967, -87.717
Tornado, Ford
- When
- May 18, 6:10 PM CST
- Where
- Ford County, Gibson City
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 40.467, -88.367
Tornado, Iroquois
- When
- May 18, 6:20 PM CST
- Where
- Iroquois County, 2 mi W of Ashkum
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 40.883, -87.983
Tornado, Ford
- When
- May 18, 6:30 PM CST
- Where
- Ford County, 4 mi S of Gibson City
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 40.417, -88.367
Tornado, Ford
- When
- May 18, 6:40 PM CST
- Where
- Ford County, 2 mi SW of Paxton
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 40.450, -88.133
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.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Texas, May 18, 2000
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Michigan, May 18 to 19, 2000
- Tornadoes and Hail in New York, May 18, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 18, 2000
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 18, 2000
- Rip Current in California, May 18, 2000
- Tornadoes and Flooding in Iowa, May 18, 2000
- Wildfire in Alaska, May 18, 2000
- Flash Flood and Flooding in Wisconsin, May 18, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Illinois, May 18, 2000
- Flash Flooding in Michigan, May 18 to 20, 2000
- Tornadoes and Hail in Iowa, May 18, 2000
More
Every storm in Illinois in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 2000Warnings in Illinois, May 2000
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: 5144687, 5144688, 5144689, 5144690, 5145032, 5145030, 5145031.