Tornadoes in Illinois, May 8, 2002

Name: Tornadoes in Illinois, May 8, 2002
Start: 2002-05-08T23:32
End: 2002-05-08T23:38
Location: Illinois

May 8, 2002 · NWS ILX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A weak tornado touched down in extreme southeastern Woodford County near the intersection of County Road 700N and 2500E. It was on the ground for a mile knocking down some power poles.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 ILX wrote it up.

A weak tornado touched down in extreme southeastern Woodford County near the intersection of County Road 700N and 2500E. It was on the ground for a mile knocking down some power poles. It then lifted briefly before touching down again 1.8 miles southeast of El Paso. As it travelled to the northeast, it crossed into the extreme northwestern corner of McLean County. At this location, it took the roof off of a barn, damaged two other barn roofs, tipped over a grain auger, as well as, blowing down trees and tree limbs. It hit another farm with only minor tree limb and house guttering damage before lifting and dissipating. No injuries were reported.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 8, 7:10 PM CST, 4 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 8, 7:10 PM CST, 4 hours 22 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
810 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002

BASED ON SATELLITE AND RADAR TRENDS TO OUR WEST...WILL EXTEND THE FLOOD
WATCH NORTH TO COVER ALL OF OUR CWFA. QUITE A BIT OF RAINFALL STILL TO
GO THROUGH TONIGHT WITH STILL THE PSBLTY OF A LINE OF SVR STORMS PUSHING
THRU THE AREA ARND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR AND AFTER. JUST GOT OFF THE PHONE
WITH SPC...LOOKS LIKE THE WRN HALF OF CWA WILL BE PUT IN WATCH. WL MAKE
NECESSARY CHANGES TO ZONES WITH UPDATED FLOOD WATCH AND THEN HOLD OFF
SENDING OUT UNTIL WE GET THE NEW WATCH FROM SPC.

.ILX...FLOOD WATCH INTO THURSDAY MORNING COVERING ALL OF THE ILX COUNTY
WARNING AREA.

SMITH

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 8, 5:46 PM CST, 5 hours 46 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN, IL
646 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0630 PM    MARSHALL                  IL   1.00 INCH HAIL
05/08/02   CLARK                          1/2 TO 1 INCH DIAMETER
                                          HAIL. REPORTED BY MARSHALL
                                          911.

0630 PM    MARSHALL                  IL   FLASH FLOOD
05/08/02   CLARK                          ROUTE 1 FLOODED BY SCHOOL.
                                          REPORTED BY MARSHALL 911.

GEELHART

Local storm report, May 8, 6:27 PM CST, 5 hours 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN, IL
727 PM CDT WED MAY 8 2002

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0705 PM    MARSHALL                  IL   FLASH FLOOD
05/08/02   CLARK                          SEVERAL STREETS IN
                                          MARSHALL CLOSED. ROUTE 1
                                          DOWN TO ONE LANE. VINE AND
                                          QUALITY LINE RD
                                          IMPASSABLE...AS WELL AS
                                          ROUTE 40 WEST OF MARSHALL.
                                          2.3 INCHES OF RAIN THIS
                                          EVENING. REPORTED BY
                                          MARSHALL POLICE.

GEELHART

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Woodford

When: May 8, 11:32 PM CST to 11:37 PM CST
Where: Woodford County, 4 mi SW of El Paso
Rating: F0
Path length: 4.5 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 40.700, -89.067

Tornado, McLean

When: May 8, 11:37 PM CST to 11:38 PM CST
Where: McLean County, 6 mi WSW of Gridley
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates: 40.717, -88.983

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

Every storm in Illinois in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Illinois, 2002 Warnings in Illinois, May 2002

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: 5302867, 5302868.