Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2016

EF1 tornado, Malden, Illinois, June 22, 2016

This EF1 tornado ran 0.5 miles across Bureau County on June 22, 2016, touching down at 8:35 PM CDT 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
June 22, 2016
Touchdown
8:35 PM CDT (01:35 UTC)
Lifted
8:38 PM CDT (01:38 UTC)
On the ground
3 minutes
Path length
0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Bureau County
Touchdown point
41.414, -89.368
Lift-off point
41.413, -89.358
Record number
1606221935-01

The damage survey

13 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS DVN and NWS ILX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 107 mph.

  • multiple tree branches broken off along Ottawa St
  • 12 large pine trees snapped. Other tree damaged as well. All damage from RFD winds
  • Multiple trees damaged. All damage from RFD winds.
  • multiple trees broken off with large broken branches in cemetery.

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

The afternoon of June 22, saw strong to severe thunderstorms form over eastern Iowa, and move into northern Illinois. The storms became supercell thunderstorms as they moved into Illinois, and produced tornadoes over portions of northern Illinois, along with wind damage and hail.

A tornado touched down in a field about 2 miles south of Malden, and moved east around one half mile before lifting. Crop damage occurred along the path length as well as damage to shingles on a residence, and several mature hardwood trees snapped off about 20 feet above the ground.

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

The warnings

16 minutes of warning. NWS DVN issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:19 UTC, 16 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:15 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 23:11 UTC and running to 03:26 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
23:11 UTC03:26 UTCTornado WatchDVN
00:33 UTC01:00 UTCTornado WarningDVN
00:38 UTC01:30 UTCTornado WarningDVN
01:19 UTC02:15 UTCTornado WarningDVN
10:11 UTC14:00 UTCDense Fog AdvisoryDVN

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 01:01 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

1.6 hours before the tornado, 97 km from the path. June 23, 2016.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2016-06-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 2855 joules per kilogram, CIN -39, lifted condensation level 998 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, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2016-06-23The 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 316 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 46 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
2855 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-39 J/kg
Surface CAPE
3447 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
998 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
46 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
316 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
422 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
6.5
Supercell composite
30.6
0-3 km lapse rate
6.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Davenport, (KDVN), 12:00Z

10.4 hours after it, 97 km from the path. June 23, 2016.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2016-06-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 534 joules per kilogram, CIN -188, lifted condensation level 597 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, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2016-06-23The 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 -29 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 54 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
534 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-188 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1128 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
597 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
54 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-29 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
65 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
-0.0
Supercell composite
-0.6
0-3 km lapse rate
3.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Peru (VYS), 19 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
23:35 UTC84.276.28180° 10 kt1007.8
23:55 UTC83.376.28160° 9 kt1006.4
00:15 UTC82.7676.64160° 10 kt1006.1
00:35 UTC8376.28170° 15 kt1005.8VCTS
00:55 UTC82.7675.56200° 26 kt291004.4VCTS
01:15 UTC82.7675.38200° 26 kt291003.7TSRA
01:35 UTC80.7876270° 14 kt211007.1+TSRA
01:55 UTC78.267520° 10 kt381006.8-TSRA
02:15 UTC74.6673.760° 0 kt1007.8TSRA
02:35 UTC73.47230° 8 kt1007.8-VCTSRA
02:55 UTC73.587380° 6 kt1007.8VCTS
03:15 UTC73.472.8690° 4 kt1007.8-RA

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

The radar

The Quad Cities radar (KDVN), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:36 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
00:12 UTCTORNADO5 Ese AmboyLee, ILBRIEF TOUCHDOWN.
00:33 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD1 Ese OhioBureau, IL
00:38 UTCTORNADOComptonLee, ILTORNADO NEAR SHAW ROAD WITH TREE DAMAGE.
00:40 UTCTORNADO 05 W La MoilleBureau, ILTORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN AND THEN LIFTED. IT LASTED FROM 740 PM TO 742 PM.
00:53 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDHooppoleHenry, IL2 FUNNELS EAST OF HOOPLE APPEAR HEADED TOWARD THOMAS
00:55 UTCTORNADOLa MoilleBureau, ILTORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN AND THEN LIFTED
00:58 UTCTORNADO1 Ne EarlvilleLa Salle, ILTORNADO 1.5 MILES NORTHEAST OF EARLVILLE ON E1401 ROAD.
01:04 UTCTORNADO 06 Sw WalnutBureau, ILBRIEF TORNADO - FUNNEL HAS LIFTED. ADDITIONAL DELAYED INFORMATION, TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR ONE MINUTE - 804 PM TO 805 PM.
01:07 UTCTORNADO3 N ManliusBureau, ILBRIEF TORNADO - FUNNEL HAS LIFTED
01:11 UTCTORNADO1 S LelandLa Salle, ILTORNADO SOUTH OF LELAND.
01:12 UTCTORNADO2 Sw Troy GroveLa Salle, ILTORNADO LIFTED EAST OF CHERRY.
01:16 UTCHEAVY RAIN 0Ene HooppoleHenry, ILVERY HEAVY RAIN OVER THE PAST 20 MINUTES. PONDING OF WATER ON STREETS AND ON HIGHWAY 78.
01:23 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDNw PrincetonBureau, ILCORRECTED FOR COUNTY - SPOTTER IS UNABLE TO SEE WHETHER THE FUNNEL IS TOUCHING THE GROUND
01:29 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDPrincetonBureau, ILFUNNEL OBSERVED NEAR TRUCK STOP
01:29 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDOttawaLa Salle, ILNEAR IL 23 AND IL 52.
01:29 UTCTORNADO3 Nw SheridanLa Salle, IL
01:32 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ne PrincetonBureau, ILSEMI ON ITS SIDE BETWEEN PRINCETON AND DOVER
01:33 UTCTORNADO1 Sse MaldenBureau, ILDELAYED REPORT. TORNADO DID DAMAGE TO A RESIDENCE WITH TREE DAMAGE ALSO FOUND. TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FROM 833 PM TO 837 PM. CATEGORY WAS EF0.
01:33 UTCTORNADO5 Nw OttawaLa Salle, IL
01:34 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD4 Ne PrincetonBureau, ILCORRECTED FOR COUNTY
01:36 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 S MaldenBureau, ILSEVERAL MATURE TREES SNAPPED OFF 20 FEET OFF THE GROUND AT RESIDENCE. SHINGLES PEALED OFF IN SPOTS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROOF. NEARBY CORN IS FLATTENED. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR.
01:36 UTCTSTM WND DMGMaldenBureau, ILSEVERAL LARGE TREES DOWN IN TOWN AND MINOR ROOF DAMAGE TO 1 RESIDENCE...TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.
01:48 UTCTORNADO3 Nne OttawaLa Salle, IL
01:57 UTCTORNADOMarseillesLa Salle, ILTWO STRUCTURES REPORTED WITH NO ROOFS ON N 2950TH ROAD. POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGE.
01:59 UTCTORNADOMarseillesLa Salle, ILSOUTH OF I-80.
02:05 UTCTSTM WND DMGGranvillePutnam, ILSEVERAL POWER LINES AND TREES DOWN IN TOWN. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2016 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 22, 2016

19 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 227:19 PM CDTEF1Lee, IL4.1300
June 227:31 PM CDTEF0Lee, IL0.150
June 227:40 PM CDTEF0Bureau, IL0.625
June 227:59 PM CDTEF0LaSalle, IL0.375
June 227:59 PM CDTEF1LaSalle, IL4.3400
June 228:02 PM CDTEF1LaSalle, IL1.4250
June 228:04 PM CDTEF0Bureau, IL0.310
June 228:11 PM CDTEF1LaSalle, IL0.550
June 228:22 PM CDTEF1LaSalle, IL1.7250
June 228:32 PM CDTEF1LaSalle, IL0.550
June 228:48 PM CDTEF1LaSalle, IL4.5100
June 228:53 PM CDTEF2LaSalle, IL8.1300
June 229:29 PM CDTEF0Grundy, IL0.7100
June 2210:06 PM CDTEF2Livingston, IL11.14404
June 2210:12 PM CDTEF1Iroquois, IL1.750
June 2210:49 PM CDTEF0Livingston, IL0.110
June 2211:37 PM CDTEF1Iroquois, IL3.1440
June 2212:51 AM EDTEF1Huntington, IN2.4200
June 2212:57 AM EDTEF2Huntington, IN2.4300

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.