F1 tornado, Marion, Illinois, June 12, 1998

1. F040 to 72 mph

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

2. F173 to 112 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

F1

Date

June 12, 1998

Touchdown

8:15 PM CDT (01:15 UTC)

Path length

2.0 miles (3.2 km)

Path width

100 yards (91 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$100,000

County

Williamson County

Touchdown point

37.670, -88.930

Lift-off point

37.650, -88.880

Record number

508

The tornado touched down half a mile east of Illinois Route 37 in the community of Hudgens and moved east-southeast for 2 miles. Damage occurred at several residences in Hudgens. At the first residence, several trees were uprooted, a couple of which were 50 feet tall. Siding on a barn was damaged by flying debris. At a second residence, decking was ripped off a porch, and shingles were blown off. Several large trees were snapped, and a dog house was blown about 40 feet. At a third residence, a barn was demolished with debris scattered in all directions. A vehicle was damaged by flying lawn furniture. At a fourth residence, the fascia on the west eave of the house was found about 300 feet northwest of the house wrapped around a tree trunk. At the fifth residence in Hudgens, a huge oak tree fell on top of a camper, and two other large oak trees were snapped. The only other damage, which occurred at a residence near the end of the track, was significant. A tree caused major roof damage to the house, and a nearby barn lost siding and roofing. Loose objects such as trash cans, lawn chairs, and child's toys were found up to a quarter mile away. Witnesses reported seeing rotating clouds about the time the damage occurred. Peak wind speeds were estimated between 90 and 100 MPH.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

33 minutes of warning. NWS PAH issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:42 UTC, 33 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:30 UTC.

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 10:45 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 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.

The live radar over the trackEvery 1998 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are

5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

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