Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2006

F0 tornado, Radom, Illinois, September 22, 2006

This F0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Washington County on September 22, 2006, touching down at 4:55 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
September 22, 2006
Touchdown
4:55 PM CDT (21:55 UTC)
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
20 yards (18 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Washington County
Touchdown point
38.270, -89.200
Lift-off point
38.270, -89.200
Record number
910

What the Weather Service recorded

A trained spotter reported that a tornado briefly touched down in a field near Radom. No damage or injuries were reported.

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

The warnings

18 minutes of warning. NWS LSX issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:37 UTC, 18 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:07 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 18:18 UTC and running to 02:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
18:18 UTC02:00 UTCTornado WatchLSX
21:28 UTC22:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
21:37 UTC22:07 UTCTornado WarningLSX
22:11 UTC23:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
22:30 UTC23:15 UTCTornado WarningLSX
23:38 UTC00:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
23:39 UTC00:14 UTCTornado WarningLSX

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 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:56 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

9.9 hours before the tornado, 215 km from the path. September 22, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2006-09-22Temperature 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 -91414, lifted condensation level 831 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2006-09-22The 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 571 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 52 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
-91414 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
831 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
571 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
612 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 00:00Z

2.1 hours after it, 215 km from the path. September 23, 2006.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2006-09-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1326 joules per kilogram, CIN -25, lifted condensation level 778 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2006-09-23The 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 90 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 70 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
1326 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-25 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1666 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
778 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
70 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
90 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
122 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.9
Supercell composite
3.5
0-3 km lapse rate
6.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What was reported nearby

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

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
21:25 UTCHAIL 1Campbell HillJackson, IL
21:27 UTCHAIL 0.88CrainvilleWilliamson, IL
21:32 UTCHAIL 0.75EnergyWilliamson, IL
21:52 UTCTORNADO5 N MurphysboroJackson, ILTORNADO ON THE GROUND AT RT 127 AND TRUEX BLACKTOP MOVING NE TOWARD ELKVILLE...A STATE TROOPER WAS FOLLOWING THIS STORM.
22:00 UTCTORNADORadomWashington, IL
22:30 UTCHAIL 1.7510 W NashvilleWashington, IL
22:40 UTCHAIL 1AddievilleWashington, IL
22:45 UTCHAIL 1HoyletonWashington, IL

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 September 22, 2006

32 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 222:40 PM CDTF0Crawford, MO3.080
September 222:42 PM CDTF2Reynolds, MO25.2550
September 222:42 PM CDTF1Crawford, MO10.480
September 223:11 PM CDTF1Washington, MO3.1150
September 223:18 PM CDTF1Jefferson, MO1.5100
September 223:20 PM CDTF3Massac, IL3.51252$500,000
September 223:30 PM CDTF2Madison, MO25.08801$150,000
September 224:02 PM CDTF1Livingston, IL to KY9.3500$365,000
September 224:13 PM CDTF4Crosstown–Murphysboro tornado, Missouri and Illinois27.52256$7.8 million
September 224:27 PM CDTF1Crittenden, KY5.0150$100,000
September 224:38 PM CDTF0Marshall, AL0.110
September 225:02 PM CDTF2Iron, MO4.8100
September 225:05 PM CDTF1Jefferson, MO0.7100
September 225:12 PM CDTF0Marion, AR0.325
September 225:15 PM CDTF0Colbert, AL4.020
September 225:17 PM CDTF1Webster, KY6.0150$150,000
September 225:20 PM CDTF0Pike, IL0.120
September 225:35 PM CDTF0Stone, AR5.225
September 226:02 PM CDTF2Blount, AL1.3100$70,000
September 226:02 PM CDTF0Cook, IL0.350
September 226:06 PM CDTF1Marshall, AL3.2500$90,000
September 226:15 PM CDTF1Izard, AR3.740
September 226:22 PM CDTF2Sharp, AR14.0100$2,000
September 226:23 PM CDTF1Izard, AR8.050
September 226:40 PM CDTF2Blount, AL0.3200$50,000
September 226:52 PM CDTF2Blount, AL4.42003$1.5 million
September 227:38 PM CDTF1Daviess, KY4.075$70,000
September 226:39 PM MDTF0Grand, UT0.215
September 228:01 PM CDTF1Butler, MO0.350$4,000
September 228:05 PM CDTF1Madison, TN3.025$50,000
September 228:15 PM CDTF1Phelps, MO8.0350$1.5 million
September 2212:06 AM CDTF0Graves, KY0.240

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.