F1 tornado, Greenville, Illinois, May 1, 2002

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

May 1, 2002

Touchdown

1:38 PM CDT (18:38 UTC)

Path length

6.5 miles (10.5 km)

Path width

40 yards (37 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Bond County

Touchdown point

38.880, -89.370

Lift-off point

38.870, -89.300

Record number

90

Six tornadoes struck at virtually the same time near Greenville, Illinois. Eye witnesses reported seeing at least 4 tornadoes on the ground at the same time. The tornadoes did not rotate around each other. They each had distinctive paths and moved rapidly east southeast. The bulk of the damage was to barns, grain bins, and other farm outbuildings and to trees and power lines. Over 35 structures were damaged by the tornadoes. The most significant damage caused by tornado 1 was to the Hillview Nursing Home which lost part of its roof. No one was injured as the staff had moved the residents to interior hallways. The residents has to be transferred to neighboring facilities due to the damage.

Six tornadoes struck at virtually the same time near Greenville, Illinois. Eye witnesses reported seeing at least 4 tornadoes on the ground at the same time. The tornadoes did not rotate around each other. They each had distinctive paths and moved rapidly east southeast. The bulk of the damage was to barns, grain bins, and other farm outbuildings and to trees and power lines. Over 35 buildings were damaged by the tornadoes. The most significant damage caused by tornado 2 was to a rural electric cooperative radio tower and to the F&S Grain Storage Bins facility which suffered major damage.

Six tornadoes struck at virtually the same time near Greenville, Illinois. Eye witnesses reported seeing at least 4 tornadoes on the ground at the same time. The tornadoes did not rotate around each other. They each had distinctive paths and moved rapidly east southeast. The bulk of the damage was to barns, grain bins, and other farm outbuildings and to trees and power lines. Over 35 buildings were damaged by the tornadoes. Tornado number 3 just missed an automobile dealership, however it caused significant damage to a barn, a machine shed, and some damage to a home. This tornado also crossed I-70 and overturned a couple of tractor trailers. One driver suffered minor injuries.

Six tornadoes struck at virtually the same time near Greenville, Illinois. Eye witnesses reported seeing at least 4 tornadoes on the ground at the same time. The tornadoes did not rotate around each other. They each had distinctive paths and moved rapidly east southeast. The bulk of the damage was to barns, grain bins, and other farm outbuildings and to trees and power lines. Over 35 structures were damage by the tornadoes. Tornado number 4 was the weakest, reaching only F0 intensity. It damaged trees and power lines and a few farm outbuildings.

Six tornadoes struck at virtually the same time near Greenville, Illinois. Eye witnesses reported seeing at least 4 tornadoes on the ground at the same time. The tornadoes did not rotate around each other. They each had distinctive paths and moved rapidly east southeast. The bulk of the damage was to barns, grain bins, and other farm outbuildings and to trees and power lines. Over 35 buildings were damaged by the tornadoes. Tornado number 5 crossed US 40 just west of Dudlleyville Road and caused tree damage and damage to a home. The tornado also crossed I-70 overturning a couple of tractor trailers. A total of 5 tractor trailers were overturned by tornadoes 3 and 5.

A series of 6 tornadoes struck the Greenville, Illinois area at virtually the same time. Eyewitnesses reported seeing at least 4 tornadoes on the ground at the same time. The tornadoes were lined up north to south and moved in distinct paths to the east southeast. They did not rotate around each other. The bulk of the damage was to trees, power lines, and farm outbuildings. Over 35 structures were damaged by the tornadoes. Tornado number 6 destroyed a garage and a machine shed sending pieces of the metal roof one-half mile to the east.

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

5 minutes of warning. NWS LSX issued a tornado warning for this county at 18:33 UTC, 5 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 19:15 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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 12:28 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.

Salem/Leckrone (SLO), 41 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 118 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 18:36 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2002 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are

14 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.