Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2015
EF1 tornado, LaSalle County, Illinois, June 22, 2015
This EF1 tornado ran 6.0 miles across LaSalle County on June 22, 2015, touching down at 8:50 PM CDT and reaching 150 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $100,000 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 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 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.
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
- EF1
- Date
- June 22, 2015
- Touchdown
- 8:50 PM CDT (01:50 UTC)
- Lifted
- 9:02 PM CDT (02:02 UTC)
- On the ground
- 12 minutes
- Path length
- 6.0 miles (9.7 km)
- Path width
- 150 yards (137 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $100,000
- County
- LaSalle County
- Touchdown point
- 41.470, -88.872
- Lift-off point
- 41.441, -88.762
- Record number
- 1506221950-01
The damage survey
6 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LOT, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 107 mph.
- Possible tornado damage. Multiple trees snapped/uprooted.
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
The warnings
12 minutes of warning. NWS LOT issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:38 UTC, 12 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:15 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:57 UTC and running to 03:49 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14:43 UTC | 17:55 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | LOT |
| 16:14 UTC | 17:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT |
| 20:57 UTC | 03:49 UTC | Tornado Watch | LOT |
| 00:30 UTC | 05:05 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | LOT |
| 01:03 UTC | 01:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | LOT |
| 01:38 UTC | 02:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | LOT |
| 01:59 UTC | 05:00 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | LOT |
| 02:06 UTC | 02:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | LOT |
| 03:37 UTC | 03:48 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LOT |
| 04:50 UTC | 09:58 UTC | Flood Warning | LOT |
| 05:19 UTC | 15:40 UTC | Flood Warning | LOT |
| 09:54 UTC | 16:00 UTC | Flood Warning | LOT |
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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:55 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.
Davenport, (KDVN), 00:00Z
1.8 hours before the tornado, 141 km from the path. June 23, 2015.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1958 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -19 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2480 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 925 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 61 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 401 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 441 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 5.7
- Supercell composite
- 17.5
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.9 K/km
Davenport, (KDVN), 12:00Z
10.2 hours after it, 141 km from the path. June 23, 2015.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -92831 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1836 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 48 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 10 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -56 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 33 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 2.9 K/km
The surface observations
Peru (VYS), 30 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23:35 UTC | 84.38 | 75.2 | 220° 15 kt | 22 | 1008.5 | |
| 23:55 UTC | 83.3 | 74.66 | 220° 14 kt | 17 | 1008.1 | |
| 00:15 UTC | 82.76 | 74.66 | 210° 17 kt | 23 | 1007.1 | |
| 00:35 UTC | 82.58 | 74.66 | 200° 14 kt | 1007.1 | ||
| 00:55 UTC | 82 | 74.48 | 210° 13 kt | 16 | 1007.5 | VCTS |
| 01:15 UTC | 81.86 | 74.48 | 210° 15 kt | 22 | 1007.5 | VCTS |
| 01:35 UTC | 82.4 | 74.66 | 220° 15 kt | 23 | 1007.1 | VCTS |
| 01:55 UTC | 82.4 | 74.66 | 300° 10 kt | 1008.5 | VCTS | |
| 02:15 UTC | 76 | 71.24 | 330° 18 kt | 34 | 1009.1 | TS |
| 02:35 UTC | 75.2 | 72.14 | 300° 4 kt | 1009.5 | ||
| 02:55 UTC | 75.56 | 71.78 | 330° 6 kt | 1009.5 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Chicago radar (KLOT), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:50 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:53 UTC | TORNADO | 4 S Amboy | Lee, IL | *** 7 INJ *** EF-2 TORNADO WITH PEAK WINDS OF 130 MPH AND PATH LENGTH OF 7.8 MILES. THIS TORNADO SNAPPED OR UPROOTED MANY LARGE TREES IN THE WOODHAVEN LAKES CAMPING RESORT AREA. SEVERAL OF THESE FELL ON RECREATIONAL VEHI |
| 01:04 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Sublette | Lee, IL | BARN BLOWN DOWN. |
| 01:07 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Sublette | Lee, IL | WOODHAVEN LAKES. MULTIPLE PEOPLE TRAPPED IN TRAILERS. POSSIBLE TORNADO. |
| 01:07 UTC | TORNADO | Sublette | Lee, IL | TRAILERS FLIPPED ON SIDE, MULTIPLE TREE LIMBS DOWN, DAMAGE TO TRAILER ROOFS. |
| 01:07 UTC | TORNADO | Sublette | Lee, IL | CONFIRMED TORNADO. |
| 01:19 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 E Sublette | Lee, IL | 1 FT. DIAMETER TREE SNAPPED AT BASE. LEE-LASALLE COUNTY LINE ON RTE 251 |
| 01:19 UTC | TSTM WND GST 60 | 3 E Sublette | Lee, IL | ZERO VISIBILITY WITH 60 MPH GUST AT RTE 251 ON THE LEE-LASALLE COUNTY LINE |
| 01:19 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Wnw Mendota | La Salle, IL | EF-1 TORNADO WITH PEAK WINDS OF 105 MPH AND PATH LENGTH OF 1.5 MILES. THIS TORNADO CROSSED THROUGH THE CENTER OF MENDOTA PRODUCING SIGNIFICANT TREE DAMAGE. SOME OF THESE TREES CAME DOWN ON STRUCTURES INCLUDING AT LEAST O |
| 01:23 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nnw Mendota | La Salle, IL | OUTBUILDING DAMAGED ALONG ILLINOIS HIGHWAY 251. A FEW TREES AND LARGE BRANCHES DOWNED IN RESTLAND CEMETARY. RADAR IMAGERY AND REPORTS INDICATE THIS WAS LIKELY STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS AROUND 80 MPH. TIME ESTIMATED. |
| 01:30 UTC | FLASH FLOOD | 2 N Amboy | Lee, IL | ROUTE 52 AT ROUTE 30 FLOODED AND IMPASSIBLE. |
| 01:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Mendota | La Salle, IL | DAMAGE TO MEDICAL BUILDING AT MEMORIAL DR, RTE251/52 |
| 01:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Mendota | La Salle, IL | NUMEROUS TREES DOWN, IL-251/US-52. CORRECTION TO PREVIOUS REPORT |
| 01:35 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Se Mendota | La Salle, IL | IN TRIUMPH TORNADO ON GROUND. |
| 01:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Sublette | Lee, IL | WOODHAVEN LAKES. MULTIPLE PEOPLE TRAPPED IN TRAILERS. POSSIBLE TORNADO. |
| 01:50 UTC | TORNADO | 7 W Serena | La Salle, IL | EF-1 TORNADO WITH PEAK WINDS OF 90 MPH AND PATH LENGTH OF 6.1 MILES. SEVERAL LARGE TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED WITH ONE TREE DOWNED ON A HOUSE. ENDING TIME OF 902 PM. |
| 02:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Ottawa | La Salle, IL | IN UNINCORPORATED WEDRON NEAR OTTAWA. EAST 2089 ROAD. MINOR DAMAGE TO SUBDIVISION AND TREES DOWN. |
| 02:05 UTC | TORNADO | 6 N Ottawa | La Salle, IL | CONFIRMED TORNADO. |
| 02:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 13 Nw Ottawa | La Salle, IL | IN PRAIRIE CENTER. AT 15TH ROAD AND ROUTE 52. TREES DOWN. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 02:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ne Seneca | Grundy, IL | THIS WAS LIKELY FROM STRAIGHT-LINE REAR FLANK DOWNDRAFT WINDS PER REPORTS FROM TRAINED STORM SPOTTERS AND RADAR. |
| 02:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 N Seneca | La Salle, IL | IN STAVANGER IN MILLER TOWNSHIP. ROUTE 25 AND ROUTE 26. TREE DAMAGE AND CROPS DOWN. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 02:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 N Seneca | La Salle, IL | IN STAVANGER, IN MILLER TOWNSHIP. VERY LARGE TREE SNAPPED, SHINGLES OFF ROOF, CORNFIELDS DAMAGED. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 02:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Seneca | La Salle, IL | BETWEEN I-80 AND ROUTE 6 AROUND NETTLE CREEK ROAD. POWER LINES DOWN, LARGE TREES DOWN AND DAMAGED, BARN DAMAGED, WOODEN SWINGSET OVERTURNED, AND CROPS FLATTENED. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 02:17 UTC | TORNADO | 6 Ne Marseilles | La Salle, IL | EF-1 TORNADO WITH PEAK WINDS OF 90 MPH AND PATH LENGTH ESTIMATED AT 7.4 MILES. THIS TORNADO WAS DETERMINED BASED ON REPORTS FROM TRAINED STORM SPOTTERS AND PHOTOS OF DAMAGE COUPLED WITH RADAR IMAGERY. DAMAGE INCLUDED A F |
| 02:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Morris | Grundy, IL | ACROSS FROM WCFL-FM TOWER SITE ON STOCKDALE ROAD. TREES DOWN AND POWER POLE SNAPPED. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 02:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Morris | Grundy, IL | DUPONT ROAD AND GORHAM ROAD. LARGE TREE LIMBS DOWN AND MINOR BARN DAMAGE. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 02:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Morris | Grundy, IL | ROUTE 47. 2 MILES SOUTH OF ROUTE 6. YARD AND TREE DEBRIS IN ROAD. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 02:30 UTC | HEAVY RAIN 2 | Seneca | La Salle, IL | RAINFALL IN 45 MINUTES. |
| 02:43 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Ne Mazon | Grundy, IL | EF-1 TORNADO WITH PEAK WINDS OF 95 MPH AND PATH LENGTH OF 0.8 MILES. A PORTION OF A HOUSE ROOF WAS BLOWN OFF AND A LARGE TREE SNAPPED. ENDING TIME OF 946 PM. |
| 02:45 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Sse Morris | Grundy, IL | *** 7 INJ *** EF-3 TORNADO WITH PEAK WINDS OF 160 MPH AND PATH LENGTH OF 16.5 MILES. DOZENS OF HOMES HEAVILY DAMAGED IN COAL CITY WITH THREE COMPLETELY DESTROYED. TWO HIGH TENSION METAL TRUSSES WERE DOWNED INCLUDING ONE |
| 02:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 E Mazon | Grundy, IL | BUILDING COLLAPSED. EMERGENCY MANAGER AND FIRE DEPARTMENT ARE HELPING PEOPLE THAT ARE TRAPPED. |
| 02:58 UTC | TORNADO | 1 S Coal City | Grundy, IL | CONFIRMED TORNADO. MULTIPLE TREES DOWN NEAR I-55/COAL CITY EXIT. |
| 03:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Coal City | Grundy, IL | MULTIPLE BUILDINGS DAMAGED INCLUDING RESIDENTIAL HOMES. |
| 03:14 UTC | FLOOD | Ottawa | La Salle, IL | 4 INCHES OF STANDING WATER ON I-80 NEAR MILEMARKER 95. |
| 03:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Braidwood | Will, IL | I-55 AND REED RD. HIGH TENSION POWER LINES DOWN ACROSS INTERSTATE. ALL LANES BLOCKED. |
| 03:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Braidwood | Will, IL | CENTER STREET SOUTH OF ROUTE 53. TREES DAMAGED AND UPROOTED. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 03:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Braidwood | Will, IL | IRISH LANE. CUSTER PARK. POLE DAMAGE, BUILDING DAMAGE, SHEET METAL DAMAGE AND LARGE DIAMETER HARDWOODS DOWN. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 03:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Braidwood | Will, IL | S. MACKS ROAD AND BAUER ROAD. DEBRIS IN FIELD. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 03:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Braidwood | Will, IL | ZILM ROAD AND MCGUIRE ROAD. STRUCTUAL DAMAGE. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
| 03:15 UTC | TORNADO | Braidwood | Will, IL | I-55 AND REED RD. HIGH TENSION POWER LINES DOWN ACROSS INTERSTATE. ALL LANES BLOCKED. |
| 03:15 UTC | TORNADO | Braidwood | Will, IL | CENTER STREET SOUTH OF ROUTE 53. TREES DAMAGED AND UPROOTED. SOCIAL MEDIA. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2015 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 22, 2015
26 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 22 | 2:26 AM CDT | EF1 | Mahnomen, MN | 0.2 | 30 | |||
| June 22 | 6:50 AM CDT | EF0 | Nicollet, MN | 2.8 | 50 | |||
| June 22 | 8:21 AM CDT | EF1 | Fayette, IA | 1.5 | 50 | 2 | $100,000 | |
| June 22 | 8:50 AM CDT | EF0 | Crawford, WI | 1.3 | 35 | $10,000 | ||
| June 22 | 9:06 AM CDT | EF0 | Crawford, WI | 7.4 | 60 | $34,000 | ||
| June 22 | 2:30 PM EDT | EF1 | Ionia, MI | 4.6 | 100 | 5 | $3.2 million | |
| June 22 | 5:05 PM CDT | EF3 | Marion, IA | 11.1 | 575 | $150,000 | ||
| June 22 | 5:50 PM CDT | EF2 | Monroe, IA | 1.7 | 290 | $125,000 | ||
| June 22 | 7:14 PM EDT | EF0 | Charlotte, FL | 0.6 | 15 | |||
| June 22 | 7:08 PM CDT | EF0 | Gray, KS | 0.6 | 50 | |||
| June 22 | 7:14 PM CDT | EF1 | Whiteside, IL | 2.2 | 75 | |||
| June 22 | 7:15 PM CDT | EF2 | Rock Island, IL | 4.2 | 440 | |||
| June 22 | 7:16 PM CDT | EF0 | Whiteside, IL | 2.6 | 50 | |||
| June 22 | 7:16 PM CDT | EF1 | Whiteside, IL | 1.7 | 50 | |||
| June 22 | 7:28 PM CDT | EF1 | Lee, IL | 7.4 | 50 | |||
| June 22 | 7:53 PM CDT | EF2 | Lee, IL | 7.8 | 880 | 7 | $1.0 million | |
| June 22 | 8:19 PM CDT | EF1 | LaSalle, IL | 1.5 | 150 | $100,000 | ||
| June 22 | 10:00 PM EDT | EF2 | Saginaw, MI | 11.3 | 250 | 2 | $600,000 | |
| June 22 | 10:07 PM EDT | EF1 | Tuscola, MI | 22.9 | 250 | $501,000 | ||
| June 22 | 9:17 PM CDT | EF1 | Grundy, IL | 7.0 | 150 | $50,000 | ||
| June 22 | 9:43 PM CDT | EF1 | Grundy, IL | 0.8 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| June 22 | 9:45 PM CDT | EF3 | Grundy, IL | 16.3 | 1,320 | 7 | $25 million | |
| June 22 | 10:08 PM CDT | EF1 | Kankakee, IL | 2.2 | 300 | |||
| June 22 | 11:55 PM EDT | EF0 | Saint Clair, MI | 0.6 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| June 22 | 11:46 PM CDT | EF0 | Kankakee, IL | 1.0 | 50 | |||
| June 22 | 1:31 AM EDT | EF1 | Washtenaw, MI | 4.3 | 100 | $300,000 |
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.