Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2015

EF1 tornado, Shady Beach, Illinois, November 11, 2015

This EF1 tornado ran 4.2 miles across Henry County on November 11, 2015, touching down at 6:39 PM CST and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody.

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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. 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.

  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
EF1
Date
November 11, 2015
Touchdown
6:39 PM CST (00:39 UTC)
Lifted
6:45 PM CST (00:45 UTC)
On the ground
6 minutes
Path length
4.2 miles (6.8 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Henry County
Touchdown point
41.502, -90.167
Lift-off point
41.555, -90.125
Record number
1511111839-01

The damage survey

27 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS DVN, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 109 mph.

  • South side porch blown in on house.

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

A strong low pressure system lifted northeast across Iowa in the late afternoon and early evening hours. A fast moving line of thunderstorms, some severe raced northeast at 50 mph to over 60 mph. Numerous reports of damaging winds of 60 mph or greater were reported. There were 4 confirmed EF-1 Tornadoes with the system. Isolated reports of hail up to three quarters of an inch in diameter were reported.

A NWS storm survey team reported an EF-1 tornado with a path length of 4.23 miles and a maximum path width of 50 yards. The estimated maximum peak winds are 110 mph. Several damaged trees along the path. One large machine shed destroyed and a house partially un-roofed when it porch was torn off.

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

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 Quad Cities, IA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Nov 11, 5:48 PM CST, 51 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 11, 5:48 PM CST, 51 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 11, 8:28 AM CST, 10 hours 11 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
828 AM CST WED NOV 11 2015

IAZ040>042-051>054-063>068-076>078-087>089-098-099-ILZ001-002-007-
009-015>018-024>026-034-035-MOZ009-010-121000-
BUCHANAN-DELAWARE-DUBUQUE-BENTON-LINN-JONES-JACKSON-IOWA-JOHNSON-
CEDAR-CLINTON-MUSCATINE-SCOTT-KEOKUK-WASHINGTON-LOUISA-JEFFERSON-
HENRY IA-DES MOINES-VAN BUREN-LEE-JO DAVIESS-STEPHENSON-CARROLL-
WHITESIDE-ROCK ISLAND-HENRY IL-BUREAU-PUTNAM-MERCER-HENDERSON-
WARREN-HANCOCK-MCDONOUGH-SCOTLAND-CLARK-
828 AM CST WED NOV 11 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL
ILLINOIS...NORTHWEST ILLINOIS...WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS...EAST
CENTRAL IOWA...NORTHEAST IOWA...SOUTHEAST IOWA AND NORTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING...A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL
BRING A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH.

THERE IS AN ENHANCED RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ROUGHLY SOUTH OF
INTERSTATE 80 WITH A SLIGHT RISK NORTH OF THIS LINE. STRONG TO
POTENTIALLY SEVERE THUNDERTSORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING. THE MAIN THREATS ARE STRONG AND POSSIBLY DAMAGING WINDS. AN
ISOLATED TORNADO MAY BE POSSIBLE. LIMITED INSTABILITY MAY IMPACT THE
RISK OF ANY SEVERE WEATHER LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING.

STORMS THAT DEVELOP WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING WILL BE MOVING
AT SPEEDS OF 40 TO POSSIBLY OVER 50 MPH. THEREFORE...THESE STORMS WILL
LEAVE YOU LITTLE TIME TO RESPOND.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT...VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST ACROSS THE AREA.
SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH ARE EXPECTED. A
WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE ENTIRE AREA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THURSDAY...VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA. SUSTAINED
WINDS OF 25 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THE WINDS
SLOWLY DIMINISHING BY LATE AFTERNOON.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. PLEASE
REPORT ANY WINDS OVER 40 MPH. ALSO ANY DAMAGE FROM STRONG...SUSTAINED
VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

NICHOLS/UTTECH/GIBBS

In the hours before

Local storm report, Nov 11, 5:36 PM CST, 1 hour 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
536 PM CST WED NOV 11 2015

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

0523 PM     TSTM WND GST     5 N FORT MADISON        40.69N 91.35W
11/11/2015  E60 MPH          LEE                IA   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

GROSS
Local storm report, Nov 11, 5:40 PM CST, 59 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE QUAD CITIES IA IL
540 PM CST WED NOV 11 2015

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

0537 PM     TSTM WND GST     MARTELLE                42.02N 91.36W
11/11/2015  E75 MPH          JONES              IA   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

&&

GROSS
Local storm report, Nov 11, 5:43 PM CST, 56 minutes before
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Local storm report, Nov 11, 5:48 PM CST, 51 minutes before
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Local storm report, Nov 11, 5:51 PM CST, 48 minutes before
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Local storm report, Nov 11, 5:54 PM CST, 45 minutes before
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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

0.7 hours before the tornado, 31 km from the path. November 12, 2015.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2015-11-12Temperature 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 -75276, lifted condensation level 679 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2015-11-12The 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 358 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 85 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-75276 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
679 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
85 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
358 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
394 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Moline (MLI), 31 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

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

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 37 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:37 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.

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 November 11, 2015

22 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 1112:48 PM CSTEF0Page, IA0.650
November 111:48 PM CSTEF1Pottawattamie, IA10.2150$1.4 million
November 112:00 PM CSTEF1Taylor, IA21.8450$405,000
November 112:09 PM CSTEF1Ringgold, IA12.2280$125,000
November 112:25 PM CSTEF0Mercer, MO0.340
November 112:31 PM CSTEF0Carroll, IA1.540
November 112:35 PM CSTEF1Ringgold, IA11.2200$5,000
November 112:49 PM CSTEF0Madison, IA5.770$3,000
November 112:51 PM CSTEF1Madison, IA10.175$25,000
November 112:56 PM CSTEF0Madison, IA3.0160$5,000
November 112:57 PM CSTEF0Wayne, IA0.615
November 112:57 PM CSTEF0Guthrie, IA3.275$5,000
November 112:59 PM CSTEF1Dallas, IA11.3100$10,000
November 113:22 PM CSTEF2Appanoose, IA13.0190$350,000
November 113:27 PM CSTEF0Polk, IA2.6150$25,000
November 113:42 PM CSTEF1Marion, IA4.41001$350,000
November 114:15 PM CSTEF0Marshall, IA1.9100$1,000
November 114:16 PM CSTEF1Mahaska, IA24.6130$1,000
November 114:20 PM CSTEF2Mahaska, IA6.6150$76,000
November 114:40 PM CSTEF1Scotland, MO2.575
November 116:36 PM CSTEF1Scott, IA2.4100
November 116:37 PM CSTEF0Rock Island, IL0.125

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.