Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 1990

F0 tornado, Crawford County, Illinois, June 2, 1990

This F0 tornado ran 3.0 miles across Crawford County on June 2, 1990, touching down at 6:40 PM CDT and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
F0
Date
June 2, 1990
Touchdown
6:40 PM CDT (23:40 UTC)
Path length
3.0 miles (4.8 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Crawford County
Touchdown point
38.970, -87.620
Lift-off point
39.000, -87.570
Record number
549

The warnings

15 minutes of warning. NWS IND issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:25 UTC, 15 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
23:25 UTC00:00 UTCTornado WarningIND

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a High Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 07:14 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Paducah/Barkley, KY (KPAH), 12:00Z

11.7 hours before the tornado, 234 km from the path. June 2, 1990.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Paducah/Barkley, KY at 12:00Z on 1990-06-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN 0, lifted condensation level 0 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Paducah/Barkley, KY at 12:00Z on 1990-06-02The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 305 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 43 knots.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
0 J/kg
Surface CAPE
552 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
0 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
305 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
337 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
12.3
0-3 km lapse rate
4.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Paducah/Barkley, KY (KPAH), 00:00Z

0.3 hours after it, 234 km from the path. June 3, 1990.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Paducah/Barkley, KY at 00:00Z on 1990-06-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2046 joules per kilogram, CIN -6, lifted condensation level 1019 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Paducah/Barkley, KY at 00:00Z on 1990-06-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 271 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 47 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
2046 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3341 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1019 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
47 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
271 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
362 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.7
Supercell composite
22.1
0-3 km lapse rate
5.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Terre Haute (HUF), 57 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
22:00 UTC8271190° 18 kt1007.8
23:00 UTC8070180° 20 kt1007.5
23:55 UTC7571210° 25 kt321006.8RA
00:00 UTC7871200° 24 kt1006.8-RA
00:10 UTC7468220° 22 kt1007.1
00:30 UTC7570210° 17 kt1007.5
01:00 UTC7571220° 11 kt1007.1

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 1990 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 2, 1990

67 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 211:35 AM CDTF0Van Buren, IA0.527$5,000 to $50,000
June 212:00 PM CDTF1Sebastian, AR2.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 212:43 PM CDTF2Buchanan, IA10.567$50,000 to $500,000
June 212:50 PM CDTF1Goodhue, MN4.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 23:12 PM CDTF1Jackson, IA1.040$5,000 to $50,000
June 24:40 PM EDTF0Lee, FL0.210
June 24:00 PM CDTF2Fond du Lac, WI1.01001$500,000 to $5 million
June 24:00 PM CDTF1Walworth, WI0.250$5,000 to $50,000
June 25:11 PM EDTF0Lee, FL0.210
June 24:30 PM CDTF2Shelby, IL8.06002$500,000 to $5 million
June 24:47 PM CDTF0Douglas, IL0.550
June 25:05 PM CDTF1Clark, IL0.550$5,000 to $50,000
June 25:15 PM ESTF0Vermillion, IN1.040$5,000 to $50,000
June 25:23 PM ESTF0Parke, IN0.550
June 25:28 PM ESTF0Parke, IN0.230$500 to $5,000
June 25:30 PM CDTF1Sangamon, IL8.0200$5,000 to $50,000
June 25:45 PM CDTF4Wayne, IL23.03002$50,000 to $500,000
June 25:45 PM ESTF0Parke, IN0.520
June 25:45 PM ESTF0Sullivan, IN0.130
June 25:50 PM ESTF2Montgomery, IN10.010012$500,000 to $5 million
June 25:53 PM CDTF2Edgar, IL to IN17.5150$50,000 to $500,000
June 25:58 PM CDTF2Edgar, IL to IN8.01006$50,000 to $500,000
June 26:00 PM ESTF0Parke, IN0.220
June 26:07 PM CDTF4Jasper, IL12.52006$50,000 to $500,000
June 26:10 PM ESTF1Boone, IN4.5301$5,000 to $50,000
June 26:10 PM ESTF0Cass, IN0.120
June 27:15 PM EDTF1Menifee, KY2.050$50,000 to $500,000
June 26:19 PM ESTF3Daviess, IN7.0200$50,000 to $500,000
June 26:20 PM CDTF4Hamilton, IL to IN106.0300112$500,000 to $5 million
June 26:20 PM CDTF1Jasper, IL3.050$5,000 to $50,000
June 27:25 PM EDTF1Morgan, KY6.050$50,000 to $500,000
June 26:25 PM ESTF1Clinton, IN6.030$5,000 to $50,000
June 26:30 PM ESTF2Greene, IN10.050$500,000 to $5 million
June 26:35 PM ESTF1Boone, IN0.530$50,000 to $500,000
June 26:37 PM ESTF0Boone, IN6.030$5,000 to $50,000
June 26:43 PM ESTF1Boone, IN7.0305$5,000 to $50,000
June 26:45 PM CDTF2Lawrence, IL to IN5.0501$50,000 to $500,000
June 26:50 PM ESTF4Lawrence, IN11.0400151$500,000 to $5 million
June 27:59 PM EDTF1Newaygo, MI1.550$5,000 to $50,000
June 27:17 PM CDTF4Gibson, IN13.0200660$5 million to $50 million
June 27:20 PM ESTF0Hamilton, IN0.220
June 27:30 PM ESTF2Putnam, IN3.55016$50,000 to $500,000
June 28:30 PM EDTF1Jackson, MI0.520$5,000 to $50,000
June 27:40 PM ESTF2Noble, IN3.52209$50,000 to $500,000
June 27:54 PM ESTF1Orange, IN11.550under $50
June 27:55 PM ESTF1Jennings, IN10.0402$5,000 to $50,000
June 29:00 PM EDTF1Johnson, KY1.023$50,000 to $500,000
June 28:05 PM ESTF2Jennings, IN18.060$50,000 to $500,000
June 29:10 PM EDTF2Washtenaw, MI15.0160$50,000 to $500,000
June 28:15 PM ESTF0Decatur, IN0.110
June 28:17 PM ESTF0Washington, IN3.530
June 28:20 PM ESTF4Jackson, IN18.02009$500,000 to $5 million
June 29:03 PM ESTF2Washington, IN4.51502$50,000 to $500,000
June 29:25 PM ESTF3Washington, IN41.0150$50,000 to $500,000
June 29:30 PM ESTF2Ripley, IN23.04403$50,000 to $500,000
June 29:30 PM ESTF2Crawford, IN11.01009$50,000 to $500,000
June 210:57 PM EDTF3Floyd, IN12.03007$500,000 to $5 million
June 210:00 PM CDTF4Dearborn, IN to OH33.01,35037$5 million to $50 million
June 210:05 PM CDTF0Crittenden, AR0.120
June 211:30 PM EDTF3Oldham, KY10.0735$500,000 to $5 million

All 68 of them

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.