Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2006

F2 tornado, Macon to Elwin, Illinois, April 2, 2006

Name: F2 tornado, Macon to Elwin, Illinois, April 2, 2006
Start: 2006-04-02T23:30:00.000Z
Location: Macon to Elwin, Illinois

From Macon to Elwin, this F2 tornado ran 4.5 miles across Macon County on April 2, 2006, touching down at 6:30 PM CDT and reaching 300 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.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mphthis tornado
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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: F2
Date: April 2, 2006
Touchdown: 6:30 PM CDT (23:30 UTC)
Path length: 4.5 miles (7.2 km)
Path width: 300 yards (274 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
County: Macon County
Touchdown point: 39.680, -89.020
Lift-off point: 39.700, -88.920
Record number: 251

What the Weather Service recorded

The tornado completely destroyed a large barn, causing debris to be blown more than a mile to the northeast. It also damaged trees and did minor damage to a roof.

The tornado snapped power poles and blew down numerous trees along its path. It damaged the roof of several structures and broke a window and signs at a strip mall. Three injuries (direct) were reported due to flying glass.

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

The warnings

1 minute of warning. NWS ILX issued a tornado warning for this county at 23:29 UTC, 1 minute before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 22:45 UTC and running to 02:11 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
22:45 UTC	02:11 UTC	Tornado Watch	ILX
23:29 UTC	00:00 UTC	Tornado Warning	ILX

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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:55 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.

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 12:00Z

11.5 hours before the tornado, 60 km from the path. April 2, 2006.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

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: -108484 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 985 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 47 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 255 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 297 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 1.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 00:00Z

0.5 hours after it, 60 km from the path. April 3, 2006.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 1184 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -39 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1184 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 746 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 253 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 276 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.1
Supercell composite: 4.9
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 23:30 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.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Report	Where	County	Remark
22:58 UTC	TORNADO 1	4 Wsw Springfield	Sangamon, IL	TOUCHED DOWN NEAR LEATH FURNITURE ON WABASH AVE. DAMAGED ROOF OF LOWES. BLEW DOWN LIGHT POLES AT LOWES PARKING LOT. ESTIMATED WIND SPEED 80 MPH.
22:59 UTC	TORNADO 1	2 N Chatham	Sangamon, IL	PATH LENGTH 1 MILE, WINDS ESTIMATED AT 80 MPH. TOUCHED DOWN 1/2 MILE SOUTHWEST OF IL-4/MANSION RD INTERSECTION. REMOVED ROOFING MATERIAL FROM SEVERAL HOMES UNDER CONSTRUCTION, AND ROOF DAMAGE TO SEVERAL OTHER HOMES.
22:59 UTC	TORNADO	Chatham	Sangamon, IL	TORNADO ON GROUND AT ROUTE 4 AND MANSION ROAD. FROM EMA.
23:00 UTC	TORNADO	Springfield	Sangamon, IL	TORNADO ON GROUND...WABASH AND COOKIE MILL. FROM EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
23:00 UTC	TORNADO	Springfield	Sangamon, IL	TORNADO ON GROUND...WABASH AND KOKE MILL. FROM EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
23:01 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	2 W Springfield	Sangamon, IL	IN LELAND GROVE, 7 TREES BROKEN OFF, DANAGING ROOF OF A HOUSE.
23:02 UTC	TSTM WND GST 60	Morrisonville	Christian, IL
23:02 UTC	TORNADO	Springfield	Sangamon, IL	CITY ESDA REPORTED LIGHT POLES DOWN BY TORNADO AT WABASH AND VETERANS.
23:06 UTC	TORNADO 1	2 E Springfield	Sangamon, IL	PATH LENGTH 3/4 MILE. TOUCHED DOWN JUST WEST OF ILLINOIS DOT BUILDING NEAR ASH ST AND DIRKSEN PKWY. DAMAGED ROOF OF IDOT BUILDING. EYEWITNESS INDICATES THE TORNADO CROSSED I-55 AND DISSIPATED BEFORE REACHING LOST BRIDGE
23:08 UTC	TORNADO 1	6 Wsw Taylorville	Christian, IL	* 1 INJ * PATH LENGTH 6.3 MILES, MAXIMUM WIDTH 300 YARDS. ENTERED TAYLORVILLE ALONG SPRESSER ST AT THE WEST EDGE OF TOWN AROUND 612 PM. MAJOR ROOF DAMAGE AT HARDWARE STORE. MOVED THROUGH RESIDENTIAL AREAS NORTH OF SP
23:13 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Riverton	Sangamon, IL	2-3 MOBILE HOMES BLOWN OVER. FROM SANGAMON ESDA.
23:13 UTC	TORNADO 1	Riverton	Sangamon, IL	* 1 INJ * PATH LENGTH 1.5 MILES. TOUCHED DOWN JUST EAST OF OAKS GOLF COURSE. CREATED STRONG F1 DAMAGE AT LINCOLN PLACE TRAILER COURT...DAMAGING 8 MOBILE HOMES...WITH WINDS ESTIMATED 110 MPH. 30 MOBILE HOMES MOVED SIG
23:13 UTC	TORNADO	Taylorville	Christian, IL	25 HOMES AND 7 BUSINESSES DAMAGED, TWO BUSINESSES WITH MAJOR DAMAGE. ONE HOME WITH DAMAGE EAST OF TAYLORVILLE. 2 MOBILE HOMES DAMAGED WEST OF TAYLORVILLE.
23:13 UTC	TORNADO	Taylorville	Christian, IL	WEST SIDE OF TAYLORVILLE. NUMEROUS BUSINESSES AND HOMES DESTROYED... FROM COUNTY ESDA.
23:14 UTC	TORNADO 1	2 Wnw Oconee	Shelby, IL	PATH LENGTH AT LEAST 6 MILES. MAY HAVE MOVED IN FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY. CROSSED INTO CHRISTIAN COUNTY AROUND 615 PM. MOVED ACROSS SOUTHEAST AND EAST SIDE OF PANA. DAMAGED TREES, ROOFS. DISSIPATED 1 MILE EAST NORTHEAST OF
23:15 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Pawnee	Sangamon, IL	TREES AND BARN DAMAGED SOUTHWEST OF TOWN. TREE DOWN ON A HOUSE IN PAWNEE. DAMAGE TO A SHED NORTHEAST OF TOWN. TIME ESTIMATED.
23:20 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	4 W Tower Hill	Shelby, IL	DAMAGE FROM 4 MILES WEST TO 2 MILES EAST OF TOWER HILL. NUMEROUS POWER LINES AND POLES DOWN. DAMAGED A ROOF AND DESTROYED A BARN. ESTIMATED WIND SPEED 80 TO 100 MPH.
23:20 UTC	TORNADO 1	Assumption	Christian, IL	PATH LENGTH 1 MILE, MAX WIDTH 100 YARDS. DAMAGED TREES AND ROOF AT SLOAN IMPLEMENT, AND DOOR AT FORD DEALERSHIP.
23:25 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	2 E Tower Hill	Shelby, IL	POWER POLES BROKEN OFF EAST OF TOWER HILL. REPORTED BY NWS TRAINED SPOTTER.
23:25 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Chestnut	Logan, IL	AIR CONDITIONING UNIT MOVED. SHINGLE DAMAGE TO BUILDING. LARGE DEBRIS IN ADJACENT FIELD.
23:25 UTC	TORNADO	1 Ne Niantic	Macon, IL	TORNADO ON THE GROUND FROM A NWS TRAINED SPOTTER.
23:25 UTC	TORNADO	1 Ne Niantic	Macon, IL	TORNADO ON THE GROUND REPORTED BY NWS TRAINED SPOTTER.
23:30 UTC	TORNADO 0	1 E Niantic	Macon, IL	PATH LENGTH 0.1 MILE, WIDTH 30 YARDS. NO DAMAGE. SIGHTED BY TRAINED SPOTTER.
23:30 UTC	TORNADO 2	1 Sw Macon	Macon, IL	PATH LENGTH 4.5 MILES, MAX WIDTH 300 YARDS. DESTROYED A 6600 SQUARE FOOT BARN 1 MILE SOUTHEAST OF MACON. DAMAGED TREES AND DID MINOR DAMAGE TO A ROOF. DISSIPATED 4 MILES EAST OF MACON AROUND 634 PM.
23:31 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Mount Pulaski	Logan, IL	HALF A TREE ACROSS POWER LINE.
23:32 UTC	TORNADO 0	2 Se Lincoln	Logan, IL	PATH LENGTH 1 MILE, WIDTH 80 YARDS. DAMAGED A BARN AND BLEW DOWN A LARGE TREE.
23:33 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	3 Se Lincoln	Logan, IL	WINDOWS BLOWN OUT OF A BASEMENT. HALF OF A BARN ROOF DAMAGED. TREE UPROOTED.
23:35 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	4 Sw Chestnut	Logan, IL	4 POWER POLES DOWN.
23:35 UTC	NON-TSTM WND DMG	Warrensburg	Macon, IL	ROOF OFF OF RESTAURANT.
23:35 UTC	TORNADO	Warrensburg	Macon, IL	ROOF OFF OF RESTAURANT
23:36 UTC	TORNADO 1	2 Sw Elwin	Macon, IL	* 3 INJ * PATH LENGTH 7.5 MILES, MAX WIDTH 150 YARDS. SNAPPED POWER POLES, DAMGED TREES AFTER CROSSING FAR SOUTHEAST PART OF LAKE DECATUR. CROSSED ROUTE 121 ABOUT A QUARTER MILE SOUTH OF US-36. DAMAGED ROOF OF CREDIT
23:40 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	8 S Sullivan	Moultrie, IL	TRAILER DESTROYED.
23:41 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Decatur	Macon, IL	POWER LINES AND PORCH AWNINGS CORNER OF ROUTE 48 AND GRAND ON WEST SIDE OF DECATUR.
23:41 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Windsor	Shelby, IL	PART OF ROOF MISSING OFF OF COOP WEATHER OBSERVER HOUSE.
23:43 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	4 Nw Neoga	Shelby, IL	DOOR RIPPED OFF SHED.
23:44 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Neoga	Cumberland, IL	DOWNED POWER LINES, CANOPIES OFF OF BUILDINGS AND ROOF OFF OF SCHOOL. REPORTED BY NEOGA FIRE DEPARTMENT.
23:44 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Neoga	Cumberland, IL	DOWNED POWER LINES, CANOPIES OFF OF BUILDINGS AND ROOF OFF A LARGE PART OF THE SCHOOL. SEVERAL LARGE TREES BLOWN DOWN AT PARK. CARPORT BLOWN INTO A FENCE. METAL POLE SNAPPED OFF GAS STATION SIGN.
23:45 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Cisco	Piatt, IL	POWER POLES DOWN.
23:45 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Sullivan	Moultrie, IL	POWER LINES DOWN.
23:45 UTC	HAIL 1	Sullivan	Moultrie, IL

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2006 tornado in Illinois Every tornado in Illinois since 1950 Warnings in force in Illinois now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 2, 2006

66 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 2	3:47 PM CDT	F0	Davis, IA	0.2	30
April 2	3:57 PM CDT	F0	Davis, IA	0.1	25
April 2	4:03 PM CDT	F2	Van Buren, IA	3.0	100			$30,000
April 2	4:15 PM CDT	F1	Van Buren, IA	2.0	50			$10,000
April 2	4:18 PM CDT	F1	Jefferson, IA	0.3	50			$10,000
April 2	4:19 PM CDT	F1	Van Buren, IA	3.0	50			$10,000
April 2	4:25 PM CDT	F2	Ralls, MO	3.5	350
April 2	4:46 PM CDT	F2	Washington, IA	1.0	75			$30,000
April 2	4:59 PM CDT	F1	Sharp, AR	9.5	100			$100,000
April 2	5:00 PM CDT	F0	Saint Francois, MO	0.1	50
April 2	5:00 PM CDT	F1	Washington, IA	0.1	50			$10,000
April 2	5:05 PM CDT	F0	Sainte Genevieve, MO	2.0	40
April 2	5:06 PM CDT	F0	Warren, IA	0.2	30
April 2	5:15 PM CDT	F2	Saint Clair, IL	7.0	100	1	11
April 2	5:15 PM CDT	F0	Macoupin, IL	2.0	30
April 2	5:15 PM CDT	F0	Macoupin, IL	0.5	30
April 2	5:16 PM CDT	F0	Henderson, IL	0.0	25
April 2	5:20 PM CDT	F1	McDonough, IL	12.0	233			$150,000
April 2	5:21 PM CDT	F0	Madison, IL	16.0	50
April 2	5:30 PM CDT	F1	Madison, IL	2.0	100
April 2	5:31 PM CDT	F0	Polk, IA	0.2	30
April 2	5:35 PM CDT	F0	Macoupin, IL	0.1	20
April 2	5:37 PM CDT	F3	Randolph, AR to MO	77.0	880	2	177	$86 million
April 2	5:41 PM CDT	F0	Montgomery, IL	1.0	50
April 2	5:46 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	0.5	200
April 2	5:49 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	2.0	100
April 2	5:50 PM CDT	F2	Montgomery, IL	20.0	200
April 2	5:56 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	1.0	100
April 2	5:56 PM CDT	F1	Montgomery, IL	2.2	100
April 2	5:58 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	1.0	100
April 2	5:59 PM CDT	F0	Sangamon, IL	1.3	50
April 2	6:00 PM CDT	F2	White, AR	6.3	100
April 2	6:06 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	0.8	50
April 2	6:08 PM CDT	F1	Christian, IL	6.3	300		1
April 2	6:13 PM CDT	F1	Sangamon, IL	1.5	100		1
April 2	6:14 PM CDT	F1	Christian, IL	6.0	150
April 2	6:17 PM CDT	F0	Christian, IL	0.1	50
April 2	6:20 PM CDT	F1	Christian, IL	1.0	100
April 2	6:22 PM CDT	F0	Menard, IL	0.3	40
April 2	6:29 PM CDT	F3	Woodruff, AR	38.0	500		5	$5.0 million
April 2	6:30 PM CDT	F0	Macon, IL	0.1	30
April 2	6:32 PM CDT	F0	Logan, IL	1.0	80
April 2	6:36 PM CDT	F0	Logan, IL	2.5	50
April 2	6:36 PM CDT	F1	Macon, IL	7.5	150		3
April 2	6:42 PM CDT	F0	Cumberland, IL	0.8	100
April 2	6:43 PM CDT	F0	Scott, MO	1.5	50			$20,000
April 2	7:01 PM CDT	F0	DeWitt, IL	0.1	30
April 2	7:08 PM CDT	F0	McLean, IL	0.1	30
April 2	7:12 PM CDT	F0	McLean, IL	0.5	50
April 2	7:13 PM CDT	F1	McLean, IL	1.0	50
April 2	7:15 PM CDT	F0	Champaign, IL	0.1	30
April 2	7:22 PM CDT	F0	McLean, IL	2.6	50
April 2	7:25 PM CDT	F0	Champaign, IL	0.3	50
April 2	7:31 PM CDT	F0	Ballard, KY	0.1	30
April 2	7:32 PM CDT	F3	Dyer, TN	18.0	880	16	70	$20 million
April 2	9:07 PM EDT	F1	Lawrence, IN	0.5	100			$100,000
April 2	8:09 PM CDT	F3	Gibson, TN	31.0	880	6	44	$27 million
April 2	9:25 PM EDT	F1	Tippecanoe, IN	0.5	100			$50,000
April 2	9:37 PM EDT	F1	Jackson, IN	0.5	100			$200,000
April 2	8:43 PM CDT	F3	Gibson, TN	8.0	880	2	6	$15 million

All 67 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.