Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2018
EF0 tornado, Maples Mill to Rawalts, Illinois, December 1, 2018
From Maples Mill to Rawalts, this EF0 tornado ran 5.5 miles across Fulton County on December 1, 2018, touching down at 4:45 PM CST and reaching 25 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $20,000 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 mphthis tornado
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 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
- EF0
- Date
- December 1, 2018
- Touchdown
- 4:45 PM CST (22:45 UTC)
- Lifted
- 4:56 PM CST (22:56 UTC)
- On the ground
- 11 minutes
- Path length
- 5.5 miles (8.9 km)
- Path width
- 25 yards (23 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- County
- Fulton County
- Touchdown point
- 40.454, -90.011
- Lift-off point
- 40.529, -89.972
- Record number
- 1812011645-01
The damage survey
79 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS ILX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 109 mph.
- looking east. trees 0.25 mile east of hwy 100.
- trees staffed in the distance again
- corn debris in the field to the south, in the direction of touchdown. corn field looks about 0.5 mile to the south-southwest
- northern extend of tor track in the field.
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
An historic tornado outbreak occurred across Illinois on December 1st, with a total of 29 tornadoes touching down across the central part of the state. This made it the largest December tornado outbreak in the state of Illinois since 1957, and the third largest tornado outbreak across Illinois in any month since 1950. Within the National Weather Service Lincoln County Warning Area (CWA), 20 tornadoes touched down...with the most significant being an EF-3 tornado that tore through the city of Taylorville in Christian County. Despite several communities being directly impacted and experiencing major damage, there were no fatalities reported. The severe weather was caused by a deep area of low pressure that tracked from eastern Kansas into north-central Illinois. Warm air surging northward ahead of the low allowed temperatures to soar into the upper 50s and lower 60s, resulting in a narrow corridor of Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) values of 500-1000J/kg ahead of an approaching occluded front. Thanks to ample low-level wind shear, numerous supercell thunderstorms developed within the instability axis by mid to late afternoon. Many of the storms produced tornadoes over the next several hours before the storms gradually weakened by mid-evening.
A tornado touched down in a field about 3.4 miles southeast of St. David at 4:45 PM CST. The tornado tracked north-northeastward damaging numerous trees along its path before dissipating 3.6 miles southeast of Canton at 4:56 PM CST.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:58 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 Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Dec 1, 2:09 PM CST, 2 hours 36 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 1, 2:09 PM CST, 2 hours 36 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Lincoln IL 209 PM CST Sat Dec 1 2018 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Sunday) ISSUED AT 209 PM CST Sat Dec 1 2018 Will be concise as convection is developing in west central IL. Have issued a dense fog advisory through this evening for Fulton/Knox/Stark counties as higher dewpoints advecting over remaining wet/melting snowpack has dropped visibilities below 1/4 mile at GBG and MQB. Gradual improvement expected later this evening after passage of occluded front. Main severe weather potential is now focused from west central IL east to near I-55 through 00Z. Warm front has now pushed north to near I-74 with southeast winds 55F+ dewpoints south of the front. 18Z KILX sounding featured steep mid level lapse rates, strong low to mid level wind shear, and low freezing level. As lift increases ahead of the approaching occluded front and associated shortwave, scattered strong to severe low-topped storms will impact the western half of the CWA into early evening. All severe weather modes are in play with damaging wind gusts and hail the primary threats. Strong low level wind shear will favor rotating storms with a few brief tornadoes possible especially this afternoon where storms near the warm front and increased SRH. These storms will be fast movers with 40-50 kt flow in the storm bearing layer. The severe threat will diminish quickly this evening as storms push though the northern CWA. After a break in precip chances later this evening, scattered showers will return to the northwest half of the CWA later tonight and on Sunday, as a surface trough lingers in this area beneath cyclonic flow aloft. && .LONG TERM...(Sunday night through Saturday) ISSUED AT 209 PM CST Sat Dec 1 2018 Scattered showers in cyclonic flow will change to light snow Sunday night and Monday as colder air filters in from the northwest. No accumulations expected. Dry but cold weather will dominate the Midwest for Tuesday and Wednesday as high pressure shifts south of the area. 850 mb temps dip to -10C and will keep highs several degrees below normal. Next precip chances arrive Thursday with a cold front. Moisture and thermal profiles suggest mainly snow with minor accumulations possible. Arctic high behind the front will again drop readings well below normal for Friday and Saturday. Potential for next winter wx maker next weekend for parts of the Midwest/Ohio Valley will bear watching. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Sunday afternoon) Issued at 1118 AM CST Sat Dec 1 2018 Deep low pressure tracking into northern Illinois by Sunday morning, will bring a challenging set of TAFs to the area. Currently a warm front is pushing north through central IL, which will tend to scatter out the lower ceilings for the I-72 sites this afternoon. Farther north, IFR ceiling should hold along with the potential for reduced visibility in fog. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms are possible into mid afternoon. A better chance for thunderstorms will develop later this afternoon and evening, ahead of an approaching cold front. This will bring scattered thunderstorms some of which will have gusty winds and small hail. These storms will shift northeast of the area this evening with MVFR to VFR ceilings expected behind the front. Gusty southeast winds will gradually lose gusts towards evening, and switch to the southwest after the frontal passage. As the pressure gradient tightens again Sunday morning, gusts will return. && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Dense Fog Advisory until midnight CST tonight for ILZ027-028-036. && SHORT TERM...25 LONG TERM...25 AVIATION...25
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 1, 3:17 PM CST, 1 hour 28 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lincoln IL 317 PM CST Sat Dec 1 2018 ILZ027-028-036-021200- Fulton-Knox-Stark- 317 PM CST Sat Dec 1 2018 ...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... There is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Damaging winds and large hail are the main concerns. A brief tornado touchdown cannot be ruled out, mainly south of I-74. Dense fog is expected to develop or continue across the area, northwest of the Illinois river, this evening through overnight. Frequent visibilities of around one quarter mile will be common. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... The combination of the weekend rain, and melting snow, will result in rises on area rivers. Minor flooding will occur early in the new week on the Spoon River. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be required this afternoon and evening. The most likely time frame is 3 pm to 9 pm. ILZ029-030-021200- Marshall-Peoria- 317 PM CST Sat Dec 1 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Illinois. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... There is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Damaging winds and large hail are the main concerns. A brief tornado touchdown cannot be ruled out, mainly south of I-74. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... The combination of the weekend rain, and melting snow, will result in rises on area rivers. Minor flooding will occur early in the new week on the Spoon River. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be required this afternoon and evening. The most likely time frame is 3 pm to 9 pm. ILZ031-037-038-040>057-061-021200- Cass-Champaign-Christian-Coles-De Witt-Douglas-Edgar-Logan-Macon- Mason-McLean-Menard-Morgan-Moultrie-Piatt-Sangamon-Schuyler-Scott- Shelby-Tazewell-Vermilion-Woodford- 317 PM CST Sat Dec 1 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of central Illinois, east central Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... There is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Damaging winds and large hail are the main concerns. Brief tornado touchdowns cannot be ruled out. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be required this afternoon and evening. West of I-55, this is most likely between 3 pm and 7 pm. East of I-55, the most likely time frame is 6 pm to 9 pm ILZ062-063-066>068-071>073-021200- Clark-Clay-Crawford-Cumberland-Effingham-Jasper-Lawrence-Richland- 317 PM CST Sat Dec 1 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of east central Illinois and southeast Illinois. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT... Strong to severe storms are possible late this afternoon into this evening. Damaging winds and large hail are the main concerns. An isolated tornado touchdown cannot be ruled out, although this would be more likely west of I-57. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... River levels will rise in response to the weekend rainfall. Minor flooding may occur along parts of the Wabash and Little Wabash Rivers early next week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be required this evening. The most likely time frame is 5 pm to 9 pm. Auten
In the hours before
Local storm report, Dec 1, 3:36 PM CST, 1 hour 9 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Dec 1, 3:51 PM CST, 54 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Dec 1, 3:53 PM CST, 52 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
353 PM CST SAT DEC 1 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0250 PM LIGHTNING HUNTSVILLE 40.18N 90.87W
12/01/2018 SCHUYLER IL EMERGENCY MNGR
*** 1 INJ *** 1 INJURY DUE TO LIGHTNING STRIKE.
&&
SBAKERLocal storm report, Dec 1, 4:03 PM CST, 42 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
403 PM CST SAT DEC 1 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0358 PM TORNADO 3 N BATH 40.23N 90.14W
12/01/2018 FULTON IL EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
SBAKERLocal storm report, Dec 1, 4:10 PM CST, 35 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
410 PM CST SAT DEC 1 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0404 PM HAIL LEWISTOWN 40.40N 90.16W
12/01/2018 M1.00 INCH FULTON IL EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
SBAKERLocal storm report, Dec 1, 4:13 PM CST, 32 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
413 PM CST SAT DEC 1 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0404 PM TORNADO 10 S LEWISTOWN 40.25N 90.16W
12/01/2018 FULTON IL EMERGENCY MNGR
ON GROUND BETWEEN MARBLETOWN AND DUNCAN MILLS
&&
SBAKERThe 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
10.8 hours before the tornado, 124 km from the path. December 1, 2018.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- 0 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 430 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 75 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 35 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 529 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 658 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 1.9 K/km
Lincoln, IL (KILX), 00:00Z
1.2 hours after it, 124 km from the path. December 2, 2018.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 653 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -11 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 519 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 628 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 49 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 38 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 392 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 444 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.5
- Supercell composite
- 6.5
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 6.3 K/km
The surface observations
Peoria (PIA), 33 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Lincoln radar (KILX), 67 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:44 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 2018 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of December 1, 2018
39 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1 | 12:15 AM CST | EF0 | Barry, MO | 0.1 | 50 | $90,000 | ||
| December 1 | 12:30 AM CST | EF1 | Lawrence, MO | 0.5 | 50 | 1 | $250,000 | |
| December 1 | 12:40 AM CST | EF0 | Christian, MO | 2.1 | 40 | $190,000 | ||
| December 1 | 12:41 AM CST | EF1 | Christian, MO | 1.2 | 75 | $150,000 | ||
| December 1 | 12:47 AM CST | EF1 | Greene, MO | 2.5 | 60 | $175,000 | ||
| December 1 | 1:22 AM CST | EF1 | Webster, MO | 4.2 | 75 | $90,000 | ||
| December 1 | 1:25 AM CST | EF1 | Hempstead, AR | 8.5 | 75 | $300,000 | ||
| December 1 | 1:37 AM CST | EF0 | Wright, MO | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| December 1 | 1:47 PM CST | EF0 | Bay, FL | 2.4 | 50 | |||
| December 1 | 1:54 PM CST | EF1 | Pike, IL | 1.6 | 25 | |||
| December 1 | 2:29 PM CST | EF0 | Pike, IL | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| December 1 | 2:34 PM CST | EF0 | Perry, AL | 0.3 | 75 | |||
| December 1 | 2:40 PM CST | EF1 | Pike, IL | 0.6 | 110 | |||
| December 1 | 3:00 PM CST | EF1 | Schuyler, IL | 1.4 | 100 | $12,000 | ||
| December 1 | 3:01 PM CST | EF0 | Morgan, IL | 1.7 | 50 | |||
| December 1 | 3:09 PM CST | EF0 | Cass, IL | 0.6 | 50 | $35,000 | ||
| December 1 | 3:18 PM CST | EF0 | McDonough, IL | 0.1 | 15 | |||
| December 1 | 3:25 PM CST | EF1 | Cass, IL | 4.2 | 200 | $200,000 | ||
| December 1 | 3:41 PM CST | EF0 | McDonough, IL | 0.1 | 15 | |||
| December 1 | 3:44 PM CST | EF0 | Mason, IL | 1.7 | 25 | |||
| December 1 | 3:49 PM CST | EF0 | Autauga, AL | 0.3 | 100 | |||
| December 1 | 3:51 PM CST | EF1 | Schuyler, IL | 15.6 | 450 | $610,000 | ||
| December 1 | 3:59 PM CST | EF1 | Macoupin, IL | 1.4 | 50 | |||
| December 1 | 4:09 PM CST | EF1 | Montgomery, IL | 8.0 | 75 | |||
| December 1 | 4:16 PM CST | EF2 | Montgomery, IL | 6.8 | 100 | |||
| December 1 | 4:32 PM CST | EF1 | Montgomery, IL | 2.0 | 50 | |||
| December 1 | 4:47 PM CST | EF0 | Montgomery, IL | 3.1 | 200 | $140,000 | ||
| December 1 | 4:53 PM CST | EF1 | Mason, IL | 11.7 | 250 | $65,000 | ||
| December 1 | 5:01 PM CST | EF3 | Christian, IL | 12.5 | 900 | 22 | $119 million | |
| December 1 | 5:34 PM CST | EF0 | Tazewell, IL | 0.1 | 50 | $80,000 | ||
| December 1 | 5:34 PM CST | EF2 | Christian, IL | 8.4 | 400 | $3.3 million | ||
| December 1 | 5:53 PM CST | EF1 | Macon, IL | 4.3 | 250 | $325,000 | ||
| December 1 | 6:03 PM CST | EF0 | Macon, IL | 0.4 | 50 | $25,000 | ||
| December 1 | 6:16 PM CST | EF1 | Sangamon, IL | 4.6 | 100 | $225,000 | ||
| December 1 | 6:31 PM CST | EF1 | Macon, IL | 1.1 | 320 | $150,000 | ||
| December 1 | 7:06 PM CST | EF1 | McLean, IL | 0.2 | 50 | $75,000 | ||
| December 1 | 7:18 PM CST | EF2 | McLean, IL | 2.4 | 100 | $75,000 | ||
| December 1 | 7:21 PM CST | EF0 | McLean, IL | 0.1 | 25 | $30,000 | ||
| December 1 | 7:42 PM CST | EF1 | McLean, IL | 0.5 | 75 | $110,000 |
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.