Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2006

F0 tornado, Cisco to Monticello, Illinois, July 26, 2006

From Cisco to Monticello, this F0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Piatt County on July 26, 2006, touching down at 7:22 PM CDT and reaching 20 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
July 26, 2006
Touchdown
7:22 PM CDT (00:22 UTC)
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
20 yards (18 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Piatt County
Touchdown point
40.020, -88.680
Lift-off point
40.020, -88.680
Record number
765

What the Weather Service recorded

A tornado briefly touched down in a field causing crop damage.

A tornado briefly touched down in a field and caused crop damage.

A tornado briefly touched down in a field and caused crop damage.

A tornado briefly touched down in a field and caused crop damage.

A tornado briefly touched down in a field and caused crop damage.

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

The warnings

19 minutes of warning. NWS ILX issued a tornado warning for this county at 00:03 UTC, 19 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 00:30 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 23:07 UTC and running to 05:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
22:50 UTC23:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningILX
23:07 UTC05:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchILX
23:28 UTC00:00 UTCTornado WarningILX
23:32 UTC00:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningILX
00:00 UTC00:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningILX
00:03 UTC00:30 UTCTornado WarningILX
00:10 UTC03:15 UTCFlash Flood WarningILX
00:53 UTC01:20 UTCTornado WarningILX
02:20 UTC03:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningILX
02:43 UTC06:45 UTCFlash Flood WarningILX

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 Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:53 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), 00:00Z

0.4 hours before the tornado, 16 km from the path. July 27, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2006-07-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 3636 joules per kilogram, CIN -17, lifted condensation level 995 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, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2006-07-27The 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 91 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 25 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
3636 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-17 J/kg
Surface CAPE
4632 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
995 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
91 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
313 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
3.9
Supercell composite
22.3
0-3 km lapse rate
6.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 12:00Z

11.6 hours after it, 16 km from the path. July 27, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2006-07-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1086 joules per kilogram, CIN -122, lifted condensation level 1111 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2006-07-27The 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 112 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 27 knots.1939Sfc1 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
1086 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-122 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1104 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1111 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
25 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
112 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
91 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
0.5
0-3 km lapse rate
4.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Lincoln radar (KILX), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:23 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)ReportWhereCountyRemark
23:55 UTCFLASH FLOODRantoulChampaign, ILUS HIGHWAY 136 UNDERPASS FLOODED AND IMPASSABLE IN RANTOUL...3 TO 4 INCHES OF STANDING WATER ON SIDE STREETS.
00:00 UTCTORNADO2 Ne OreanaMacon, ILTORNADO ON THE GROUND BETWEEN OREANA AND ARGENTA. OBSERVED BY TRAINED SPOTTER...REPORTED BY EMERGENCY MANAGER.
00:10 UTCTORNADO2 Sw CiscoPiatt, ILF0 TORNADO TOUCHDOWN SIGHTED FOR ONE MINUTE. CAUSED CROP DAMAGE. 100-YARDS PATH LENGTH. PATH WIDTH 30-YARDS WIDE.
00:17 UTCTORNADO2 Sw ArgentaMacon, ILTRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED A BRIEF TOUCHDOWN BETWEEN OREANA AND ARGENTA.
00:22 UTCTORNADO3 E CiscoPiatt, ILF0 TORNADO TOUCHDOWN SIGHTED FOR 30 SECONDS IN A SOY BEAN FIELD. PATH LENGTH - 50 YARDS. PATH WIDTH - 20 YARDS.
00:25 UTCTORNADO4 E CiscoPiatt, ILFO TORNADO TOUCHDOWN SIGHTED FOR 30 SECONDS IN A SOY BEAN FIELD. PATH LENGTH - 50 YARDS. PATH WIDTH - 20 YARDS.
00:50 UTCTORNADO1 E CiscoPiatt, ILF0 TORNADO SIGHTED ON THE GROUND FOR ONE MINUTE IN A CORN FIELD. PATH LENGTH - 75 YARDS. PATH WIDTH - 30 YARDS. PRODUCED CROP DAMAGE.
00:51 UTCTORNADO2 W MonticelloPiatt, ILREPORT FROM TRAINED SPOTTER
00:51 UTCTORNADO2 W MonticelloPiatt, ILREPORT FROM TRAINED SPOTTER
01:45 UTCFLOODClintonDe Witt, ILABOUT 2 FEET OF STANDING WATER ON STATE HIGHWAY 10 UNDER THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL-CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILROAD VIADUCT.
02:45 UTCFLOODMonticelloPiatt, ILREPORT OF 2 FEET OF WATER OVER OLD ROUTE 47 ON THE NW SIDE OF MONTICELLO.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2006 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of July 26, 2006

12 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 265:55 AM CDTF0Vermilion Parish, LA0.210
July 265:00 PM CDTF0Lincoln, NE1.520$1,000
July 266:15 PM CDTF0Clay, IA0.150
July 267:18 PM EDTF1Putnam, FL0.575
July 266:25 PM CDTF0Clay, IA0.550
July 267:00 PM CDTF0Macon, IL0.130
July 267:10 PM CDTF0Piatt, IL0.130
July 267:15 PM CDTF1Vermilion, IL2.850$40,000
July 267:25 PM CDTF0Piatt, IL0.120
July 267:30 PM CDTF0Vermilion, IL0.130
July 267:50 PM CDTF0Piatt, IL0.130
July 267:51 PM CDTF0Piatt, IL0.130

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.