Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2011

EF2 tornado, Fairfield, Illinois, April 19, 2011

Name: EF2 tornado, Fairfield, Illinois, April 19, 2011
Start: 2011-04-20T02:30:00.000Z
End: 2011-04-20T02:37:00.000Z
Location: Fairfield, Illinois

This EF2 tornado ran 10.6 miles across Wayne County on April 19, 2011, touching down at 9:30 PM CDT and reaching 150 yards wide. It killed nobody and injured 2, and did $400,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 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.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 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: EF2
Date: April 19, 2011
Touchdown: 9:30 PM CDT (02:30 UTC)
Lifted: 9:37 PM CDT (02:37 UTC)
On the ground: 7 minutes
Path length: 10.6 miles (17.0 km)
Path width: 150 yards (137 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 2
Property damage: $400,000
County: Wayne County
Touchdown point: 38.327, -88.302
Lift-off point: 38.474, -88.250
Record number: 1104192030-02

The damage survey

6 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS PAH, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 120 mph.

At this location, trees were down next to a home which sustained minor damage.
In this location, a house was a complete loss. The roof was gone on the southwest side and the house was blown apart in places. Trees were destroyed in this location as well. 2 injuries at this home - 1 hospitalized. Small barn destroyed.
At this location, a brain bin is destroyed and shingles off a house. Trees destroyed. A horse trailer was pulled out from under a shed and slammed into a grain bin.
Power poles down or snapped in this location. Peak winds 120 mph. Avg path width 100 yds.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

What the Weather Service recorded

Thunderstorms organized into a bow echo that produced widespread very damaging winds and isolated tornadoes. A shortwave trough over the central and southern high Plains moved northeast through the Mid-Mississippi Valley into the upper Great Lakes. A surface low attendant to this system moved from west central Missouri northeast to north of St. Louis. The trailing cold front advanced southeast across the Lower Ohio Valley and served as the primary focus for thunderstorms.

One house was destroyed, with part of the roof removed and separation of some walls. A machine shed and several grain bins were destroyed. About a dozen power poles were snapped. Dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted. A tank was blown about 150 yards. An outbuilding was blown across Route 15. The average path width was 100 yards. Peak winds were estimated near 120 mph.

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

The warnings

37 minutes of warning. NWS PAH issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:53 UTC, 37 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 23:46 UTC and running to 06:15 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
23:46 UTC	06:15 UTC	Tornado Watch	PAH
01:50 UTC	02:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH
01:53 UTC	02:30 UTC	Tornado Warning	PAH
02:19 UTC	05:15 UTC	Flood Advisory	PAH
02:26 UTC	02:49 UTC	Tornado Warning	PAH
02:35 UTC	03:00 UTC	Tornado Warning	PAH

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, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 01:10 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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Apr 19, 3:22 PM CDT, 6 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 19, 3:22 PM CDT, 6 hours 8 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
322 PM CDT TUE APR 19 2011

.DISCUSSION...

...MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT FOR MOST OF
REGION...

IN WAIT MODE AT CURRENT TIME ACROSS OUR FORECAST AREA AS CONVECTION
IS BEGINNING TO INITIATE ALONG FRONTAL BOUNDARY MOVING EAST INTO SW
AND CENTRAL MO. MOST OF OUR AREA REMAINS UNDER A VERY SHARP CAP...AS
EVIDENT ON 16Z RUC SOUNDINGS. THIS CAP SHOULD KEEP MOST LOCATIONS
STORM FREE UNTIL IT WEAKENS AND JUST AHEAD OF THE LINE OF STORMS
VERY LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY THIS EVENING. MODERATE RISK
OF SEVERE STORMS WITH THE ENTIRE BAG OF SEVERE RISKS POSSIBLE...
ESPECIALLY WITH DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LARGE HAIL...ISOLATED
TORNADOES AND EVEN THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN ALONG ALONG AND
BEHIND THE LINE OF STORMS.

STILL IS SOME CONCERN THAT A PREFRONTAL SURFACE TROF WILL DEVELOP
OUT AHEAD OF THE MAIN FRONT/LINE OF STORMS EARLY TONIGHT. IF THIS
OCCURS AND FORCING IS STRONG ENOUGH TO ERODE THE CURRENT THERMAL
CAP...WE COULD END UP WITH INDIVIDUAL/DISCRETE THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY
OUT AHEAD OF THE MAIN LINE....ESP THIS EVENING. IF THIS WERE TO
OCCUR...ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS WOULD BE MORE FAVORABLE FOR VERY
LARGE HAIL AND A CREATE LARGER POTENTIAL FOR TORNADOES TO SPIN UP.
THIS SITUATION APPEARS MORE LIKELY ALONG AND NW OF THE OHIO
RIVER...AND IN SE MO.

THE MODELS TRENDED A BIT FASTER AND HAVE STAYED THE COURSE. BY 06Z...
THE LOW SHOULD BE OVER NCNTRL INDIANA WITH THE TRAILING COLD FRONT
JUST EAST OF THE OHIO RIVER. THEREFORE WE LOWERED POPS CONSIDERABLY
AFTER MIDNIGHT FROM THE WEST. WE HAVE WEDNESDAY AND NIGHT DRY GIVEN
THE INFLUENCE OF SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE TO OUR NORTH PUSHING SOUTH
THROUGH THE REGION.

THURSDAY INTO THURSDAY NIGHT POPS ARE ON THE INCREASE AS MID LEVEL
FLOW BECOMES MORE SWLY AND DRAWS THE SFC BOUNDARY BACK NORTH ACROSS
THE AREA AS A WARM FRONT THU NIGHT. BEST CHANCE FOR ANY STRONG STORM
WOULD LIKELY BE JUST NORTH OF THE WARM FRONT THU NIGHT...SO
INCREASED POPS INTO THE LIKELY RANGE OVER MUCH OF THE REGION.

ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE LONG TERM AS THE
STORM TRACK CHANGES LITTLE. MODERATELY STRONG WEST/SOUTHWEST MID
LEVEL FLOW WILL STEER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS ACROSS THE CENTRAL PLAINS
TO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY/WESTERN GREAT LAKES. THIS SHOULD
RESULT IN A GENERALLY WARM AND HUMID PATTERN...WITH PERIODS OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. REGARDING THE DAILY DETAILS...

ON FRIDAY...A SURFACE WARM FRONT WILL LIFT NORTH OF THE LOWER OHIO
VALLEY. PRECIPITATION WILL DIMINISH FROM SOUTH TO NORTH DURING THE
DAY...WITH SOME CLEARING LIKELY IN THE AFTERNOON.

ON FRIDAY NIGHT...A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST TOWARD THE MID
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. COMPARED TO TONIGHTS SYSTEM...THE FRIDAY NIGHT
SYSTEM LOOKS TO BE A LITTLE WEAKER AND FURTHER NORTHWEST. IN
FACT...THE 12Z GEFS KEEPS THE CENTRAL PRESSURE ABOVE 1000 MB AT ITS
DEEPEST POINT. FORECAST CAPES AND WIND FIELDS ARE NOT AS IMPRESSIVE
AS THIS EVENING...BUT STILL EASILY SUFFICIENT FOR ORGANIZED
SEVERE.

ON SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...THE MODELS REMAIN HIGHLY DIVERGENT WITH
RESPECT TO THE FRONTAL MOVEMENT. THE 12Z GFS REMAINS CONSISTENT WITH
PREVIOUS RUNS BY STALLING THE FRONT OVER THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY
THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE 12Z HPC AND ECMWF SOLUTIONS KEEP THE FRONT
FARTHER NORTH. FORECAST WILL LEAN TOWARD THE SOMEWHAT WARMER AND
DRIER HPC/ECMWF SOLUTIONS.

EARLY NEXT WEEK...A DEEPENING 500 MB TROUGH OVER THE PLAINS WILL
RESULT IN SURFACE CYCLOGENESIS WELL TO OUR WEST. DEPENDING ON THE
TRACK OF THE SYSTEM...ANOTHER ROUND OF SEVERE STORMS IS POSSIBLE.
THE MODELS SEEM TO BE TRENDING SLOWER AND STRONGER WITH THE
SYSTEM...MEANING THAT MONDAY IS LOOKING WARMER AND DRIER WHILE
TUESDAY IS MORE LIKELY TO BE ACTIVE.

CHANCES FOR HEAVY RAIN/FLOODING POTENTIAL WILL HEAVILY DEPEND ON THE
FRONTAL MOVEMENT THIS WEEKEND...WHICH THE MODELS ARE STILL HAVING
TROUBLE WITH.

&&

.AVIATION...
WINDS WILL BE S TO SW AT 10 TO 20 KTS WITH GUSTS TO 30 KTS THIS
AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING...AHEAD OF ADVANCING STRONG COLD FRONT
THAT SHOULD DEVELOP WIDESPREAD CONVECTION/SQUALL LINE THAT WILL
LIKELY BRING AT LEAST SCT...IF NOT WIDESPREAD...WIND GUSTS FROM 40
TO 60 KTS. LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE
ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION TONIGHT...BEGINNING 00Z TO 05Z THIS EVENING
KCGI TO KPAH...04Z TO 09Z AS BEST GUESS IN TIMING FOR KEVV TO KOWB.
IFR CLOUDS WILL LIKELY PERSIST THROUGH MUCH OF THE LATTER PORTION OF
THE FORECAST PERIOD.

&&

.PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KY...NONE.
MO...NONE.
IL...NONE.
IN...NONE.
&&

MEFFERT/MY

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 19, 6:46 PM CDT, 2 hours 44 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
646 PM CDT TUE APR 19 2011

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-201015-
JEFFERSON-WAYNE IL-EDWARDS-WABASH-PERRY IL-FRANKLIN-HAMILTON-
WHITE-JACKSON-WILLIAMSON-SALINE-GALLATIN-UNION IL-JOHNSON-POPE-
HARDIN-ALEXANDER-PULASKI-MASSAC-GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-VANDERBURGH-
WARRICK-SPENCER-FULTON-HICKMAN-CARLISLE-BALLARD-MCCRACKEN-GRAVES-
LIVINGSTON-MARSHALL-CALLOWAY-CRITTENDEN-LYON-TRIGG-CALDWELL-
UNION KY-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-HENDERSON-DAVIESS-MCLEAN-
MUHLENBERG-TODD-PERRY MO-BOLLINGER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-WAYNE MO-CARTER-
RIPLEY-BUTLER-STODDARD-SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID-
646 PM CDT TUE APR 19 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY...AND SOUTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

A TORNADO WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE QUAD STATE UNTIL 200 AM.
REFER TO THE WATCH FOR DETAILS.

A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES. LARGE
HAIL...DAMAGING WINDS...AND A FEW TORNADOES WILL ALL BE POSSIBLE
WITH ANY SEVERE STORMS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN IS ALSO A THREAT.
INDIVIDUAL STORM MOTION SHOULD BE NORTHEAST FROM 40 TO 50 MPH.

REFER TO RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS ON
WIDESPREAD MINOR TO MODERATE RIVER FLOODING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT...OFF AND
ON THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. ISOLATED STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS
CANNOT BE RULED OUT.

MINOR TO MODERATE RIVER FLOODING IS FORECAST TO CONTINUE THROUGH
MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED FOR THE WATCH TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 19, 9:15 PM CDT, 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
915 PM CDT TUE APR 19 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0915 PM     TSTM WND DMG     THEBES                  37.21N 89.45W
04/19/2011                   ALEXANDER          IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TREES DOWN OUTSIDE OF COMMUNITY ALONG HASTINGS RANCH
            ROAD.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Apr 19, 9:19 PM CDT, 11 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
919 PM CDT TUE APR 19 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0919 PM     TSTM WND DMG     KEENES                  38.34N 88.64W
04/19/2011                   WAYNE              IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TELEPHONE POLES SNAPPED WITH WIND GUSTS ESTIMATED 60 MPH.
            NICKEL SIZE HAIL JUST SOUTH OF TOWN.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Apr 19, 9:21 PM CDT, 9 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
921 PM CDT TUE APR 19 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0920 PM     TSTM WND GST     RANDLES                 37.14N 89.77W
04/19/2011  M70 MPH          CAPE GIRARDEAU     MO   EMERGENCY MNGR

            ALSO MARBLE SIZE HAIL ON SOUTH HIGHWAY 25 IN SOUTHWEST
            CORNER OF CAPE GIRARDEAU MISSOURI

&&

DLL

Local storm report, Apr 19, 9:23 PM CDT, 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
923 PM CDT TUE APR 19 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0819 PM     TSTM WND DMG     DAISY                   37.52N 89.79W
04/19/2011                   CAPE GIRARDEAU     MO   EMERGENCY MNGR

            STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE. NUMEROUS TREES DOWN. POWER
            OUTAGES. BARN BLOWN OVER ALONG INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY B
            AND AA. WIDESPREAD TREE DAMAGE AND MISSOURI DOT IS
            RESPONDING TO CLEAR ROADWAYS.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Apr 19, 9:27 PM CDT, 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
927 PM CDT TUE APR 19 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0927 PM     TORNADO          RANDLES                 37.14N 89.77W
04/19/2011                   CAPE GIRARDEAU     MO   TRAINED SPOTTER

            UNCONFIRMED TORNADO REPORTED. BEING CHASED BY TRAINED
            SPOTTERS.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Apr 19, 9:30 PM CDT, 0 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
930 PM CDT TUE APR 19 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0929 PM     TSTM WND GST     CISNE                   38.51N 88.44W
04/19/2011  M65 MPH          WAYNE              IL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            JUST EAST OF THE CITY LIMITS

&&

DLL

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

2.5 hours before the tornado, 197 km from the path. April 20, 2011.

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: 2409 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -46 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 523 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 62 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 36 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 370 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 547 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 24.4
0-3 km lapse rate: 3.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 12:00Z

9.5 hours after it, 197 km from the path. April 20, 2011.

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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -84649 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 11 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 527 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -55 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -4 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0
0-3 km lapse rate: 1.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Fairfield (FWC), 12 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)	Temp (°F)	Dew point (°F)	Wind	Gust (kt)	Pressure (mb)
00:36 UTC	80.6	62.6	210° 17 kt	24	1000.7
00:56 UTC	82.4	62.6	210° 15 kt	24	1001.7
01:16 UTC	82.4	60.8	200° 15 kt	24	1001
01:36 UTC	82.4	60.8	200° 17 kt	30	1001.4
01:56 UTC	80.6	60.8	190° 16 kt	25	1001.4
02:16 UTC	80.6	62.6	180° 17 kt	26	1000

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

The radar

The Evansville,IN radar (KVWX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:31 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
02:03 UTC	TORNADO	2 Nw Mount Vernon	Jefferson, IL	TORNADO WAS RATED EF1...WITH PEAK WINDS OF 105 MPH. AVG PATH WIDTH 90 YARDS...PATH LENGTH 3.5 MILES. THERE WAS SHINGLE DAMAGE TO HOUSES...AWNINGS/OVERHANGS DESTROYED. MANY TREES SNAPPED OR UPROOTED.
02:06 UTC	TORNADO	1 Se Bluford	Jefferson, IL	TORNADO WAS RATED EF1 WITH PEAK WINDS OF 110 MPH. AVG PATH WIDTH 80 YARDS...PATH LENGTH 1.8 MILES. MANY TREES SNAPPED OR UPROOTED...HAY BARN PARTIALLY PUSHED OVER...OLD WOODEN BARN DESTROYED...NEWER WOOD-FRAME EQUIPMENT
02:12 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	4 W Dahlgren	Jefferson, IL	LATE REPORT. NUMEROUS TREES DOWN. POWER OUTAGES. LARGE FARM BUILDING NEAR EXIT 89 ALONG INTERSTATE 64 DESTROYED. APPEARED TO BE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.
02:19 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Keenes	Wayne, IL	TELEPHONE POLES SNAPPED WITH WIND GUSTS ESTIMATED 60 MPH. NICKEL SIZE HAIL JUST SOUTH OF TOWN.
02:19 UTC	TORNADO	6 Se Mcleansboro	Hamilton, IL	AN EF1 TORNADO TRAVELED FROM 6 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MCLEANSBORO TO 8 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF MCLEANSBORO. HUNDREDS OF TREES WERE UPROOTED AND A SMALL GRAIN BIN WAS DESTROYED.
02:23 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Flora	Clay, IL	TREES DOWN
02:23 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Xenia	Clay, IL	SEVERAL TREES DOWN. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
02:23 UTC	HAIL 0.88	Flora	Clay, IL
02:24 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	4 W Carmi	White, IL	FUNNEL CLOUD OBSERVED BY STATE TROOPER WEST OF COMMUNITY.
02:25 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	4 S Wayne City	Wayne, IL	MOBILE HOME THAT WAS NOT TIED DOWN HAS BLOWN AWAY. A FEW FARM SHEDS HAVE BEEN DAMAGED NEAR THE WAYNE JEFFERSON COUNTY LINE.
02:29 UTC	TSTM WND GST 65	Cisne	Wayne, IL	JUST EAST OF THE CITY LIMITS
02:30 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Carmi	White, IL	LATE REPORT. WIDESPREAD TREES DOWN AS WELL AS POWER POLES SNAPPED. MUCH OF THE CITY IS WITHOUT POWER. ONE HOME HAD LARGE UPROOTED TREE FELL ACROSS A HOME. IN NORTH CITY THE HIGH SCHOOL HAD PART OF THE ROOF BLOWN OFF. NO
02:30 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Enfield	White, IL	LATE REPORT. BARNS BLOWN DOWN. TREES DOWN.
02:30 UTC	TORNADO	5 Se Fairfield	Wayne, IL	AN EF2 TORNADO TRACKED FROM 5.25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF FAIRFIELD TO 9.25 MILES NORTHEAST OF FAIRFIELD DESTROYING ONE HOUSE, GRAIN BINS, DOWNING SEVERAL POWER POLES, AND UPROOTING OR SNAPPING DOZENS OF TREES. 2 PEOPLE WERE I
02:40 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Elba	Gallatin, IL	LATE REPORT. CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE TO HOUSE AND BARN. TREES DAMAGED.
02:45 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Maunie	White, IL	TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN.
03:09 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Lawrenceville	Lawrence, IL	LARGE TREES DOWN, 5 POWER POLES DOWN, 1 CAR UNDER A TREE. DELAYED REPORT.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2011 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 19, 2011

69 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
April 19	4:00 PM CDT	EF1	Pike, MO	4.1	150
April 19	4:36 PM CDT	EF0	Pike, MO	0.4	50
April 19	5:58 PM CDT	EF0	Pushmataha, OK	0.1	50
April 19	5:58 PM CDT	EF3	Macoupin, IL	4.3	200	2
April 19	6:07 PM CDT	EF1	Pushmataha, OK	3.5	100
April 19	6:08 PM CDT	EF2	Montgomery, IL	3.2	150
April 19	6:15 PM CDT	EF2	Montgomery, IL	3.5	200
April 19	6:17 PM CDT	EF1	Christian, IL	2.0	100		$90,000
April 19	6:30 PM CDT	EF0	Christian, IL	3.5	100		$95,000
April 19	6:32 PM CDT	EF1	Christian, IL	0.9	100		$60,000
April 19	6:45 PM CDT	EF0	LeFlore, OK	0.1	75
April 19	6:48 PM CDT	EF0	LeFlore, OK	3.0	125
April 19	7:43 PM CDT	EF1	Wayne, MO	5.2	500		$25,000
April 19	7:55 PM CDT	EF0	Bollinger, MO	0.5	100		$15,000
April 19	7:59 PM CDT	EF1	Edgar, IL	1.1	100		$140,000
April 19	8:02 PM CDT	EF0	Vermilion, IL	2.7	25		$225,000
April 19	9:10 PM EDT	EF1	Vermillion, IN	31.1	100		$85,000
April 19	8:11 PM CDT	EF1	Vermilion, IL	2.6	100		$360,000
April 19	8:35 PM CDT	EF0	Jackson, IL	3.9	100		$70,000
April 19	8:40 PM CDT	EF1	Franklin, IL	0.3	50		$80,000
April 19	9:40 PM EDT	EF1	Tippecanoe, IN	0.7	100		$80,000
April 19	8:49 PM CDT	EF1	Franklin, IL	0.1	50		$10,000
April 19	9:50 PM EDT	EF0	Tippecanoe, IN	2.6	50		$15,000
April 19	9:55 PM EDT	EF1	Boone, IN	0.6	50		$10,000
April 19	9:02 PM CDT	EF1	Marion, IL	0.4	75
April 19	9:03 PM CDT	EF1	Jefferson, IL	4.3	100		$70,000
April 19	9:06 PM CDT	EF1	Jefferson, IL	1.4	100		$90,000
April 19	9:19 PM CDT	EF1	Hamilton, IL	3.4	150		$150,000
April 19	9:27 PM CDT	EF0	Cape Girardeau, MO	0.1	40		$20,000
April 19	9:28 PM CDT	EF2	White, IL	1.8	125		$2.0 million
April 19	9:30 PM CDT	EF1	White, IL	1.4	100		$300,000
April 19	10:41 PM EDT	EF1	Grant, IN	2.5	150		$100,000
April 19	9:48 PM CDT	EF2	Wabash, IL	11.3	250		$2.5 million
April 19	10:48 PM EDT	EF1	Grant, IN	2.9	50
April 19	9:53 PM CDT	EF1	Wabash, IL	2.8	125		$50,000
April 19	10:54 PM EDT	EF1	Knox, IN	10.9	75		$206,000
April 19	9:57 PM CDT	EF1	Gibson, IN	4.4	100		$130,000
April 19	11:16 PM EDT	EF1	Jay, IN	6.9	50
April 19	11:19 PM EDT	EF0	Van Wert, OH	0.5	50
April 19	11:22 PM EDT	EF0	Dubois, IN	0.3	200
April 19	11:22 PM EDT	EF1	Dubois, IN	3.1	200
April 19	11:25 PM EDT	EF0	Dubois, IN	1.9	200
April 19	11:26 PM EDT	EF1	Dubois, IN	0.4	100
April 19	11:26 PM EDT	EF2	Dubois, IN	3.3	300
April 19	11:39 PM EDT	EF2	Mercer, OH	3.7	30		$340,000
April 19	11:39 PM EDT	EF2	Orange, IN	1.0	200
April 19	11:40 PM EDT	EF1	Orange, IN	1.5	125
April 19	11:40 PM EDT	EF1	Van Wert, OH	4.0	100
April 19	11:40 PM EDT	EF1	Orange, IN	0.7	75
April 19	11:44 PM EDT	EF0	Auglaize, OH	3.8	67		$55,000
April 19	11:47 PM EDT	EF0	Orange, IN	0.5	100
April 19	10:54 PM CDT	EF0	Breckinridge, KY	11.5	150
April 19	11:58 PM EDT	EF1	Allen, OH	0.7	100
April 19	11:59 PM EDT	EF1	Washington, IN	1.5	200
April 19	12:00 AM EDT	EF0	Washington, IN	1.2	75
April 19	12:07 AM EDT	EF0	Washington, IN	0.7	50
April 19	12:09 AM EDT	EF0	Harrison, IN	0.3	50
April 19	12:14 AM EDT	EF0	Washington, IN	13.1	200
April 19	12:19 AM EDT	EF0	Scott, IN	11.8	100
April 19	12:28 AM EDT	EF1	Clark, IN	1.2	200

All 70 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.