Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2024

EF0 tornado, Elburn to La Fox, Illinois, June 22, 2024

From Elburn to La Fox, this EF0 tornado ran 2.3 miles across Kane County on June 22, 2024, touching down at 10:37 PM CDT and reaching 300 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 mphthis tornado

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

    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
EF0
Date
June 22, 2024
Touchdown
10:37 PM CDT (03:37 UTC)
Lifted
10:41 PM CDT (03:41 UTC)
On the ground
4 minutes
Path length
2.3 miles (3.8 km)
Path width
300 yards (274 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Kane County
Touchdown point
41.891, -88.480
Lift-off point
41.886, -88.436
Record number
2406222137-01

The damage survey

36 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LOT, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 80 mph.

  • rotted tree in poor condition
  • snapped but not great shape
  • tree on house not great shape leaning
  • tree snapped (not great shape)

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 line of severe thunderstorms dropped south across northern Illinois during the evening and night of the 22nd. The line produced four EF-0 tornadoes in addition to widespread wind damage across the Chicago metro. Many also saw torrential rainfall and localized flash flooding, particularly in extreme northeast Illinois north of the I-90 corridor where a widespread 3-6 of rain fell.

An EF0 tornado started just west of downtown Elburn, south of the railroad tracks, where concentrated tree damage was found. Crop damage was noted in the vicinity of Anderson Road. Pockets of tree damage continued to just east of Pauley Road just to the west of La Fox.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 00:36 UTC and running to 06:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
00:36 UTC06:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WatchLOT
00:37 UTC06:00 UTCFlood WatchLOT
03:25 UTC04:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLOT
03:33 UTC07:00 UTCFlood AdvisoryLOT
04:20 UTC08:15 UTCFlash Flood WarningLOT

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 01:03 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

3.6 hours before the tornado, 172 km from the path. June 23, 2024.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 00:00Z on 2024-06-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 1535 joules per kilogram, CIN -5, lifted condensation level 1281 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 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 2024-06-23The 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 162 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 34 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
1535 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Surface CAPE
2769 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1281 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
162 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
339 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
18.7
0-3 km lapse rate
7.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Davenport, (KDVN), 12:00Z

8.4 hours after it, 172 km from the path. June 23, 2024.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Davenport, at 12:00Z on 2024-06-23Temperature 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 -67795, lifted condensation level 864 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2024-06-23The 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 12 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 26 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-67795 J/kg
Surface CAPE
7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
864 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-30 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.6 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 03:39 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
03:19 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Ssw Crystal LakeMchenry, ILVideo shared via social media shows over a foot of standing water in the intersection of U.S. 14 and Devonshire Lane.
03:19 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Ssw Crystal LakeMchenry, ILVideo shared via social media shows over a foot of standing water in the intersection of U.S. 14 and Devonshire Lane.
03:19 UTCFLASH FLOOD1 Ssw Crystal LakeMchenry, ILVideo shared via social media shows over a foot of standing water in the intersection of U.S. 14 and Devonshire Lane.
03:22 UTCTSTM WND GST 461 Nw CortlandDe Kalb, ILDKB AWOS.
03:22 UTCTSTM WND GST 461 Nw CortlandDe Kalb, ILDKB AWOS.
03:22 UTCTSTM WND GST 461 Nw CortlandDe Kalb, ILDKB AWOS.
03:24 UTCTSTM WND GST 474 Ese SycamoreDe Kalb, ILDavis personal weather station.
03:24 UTCTSTM WND GST 474 Ese SycamoreDe Kalb, ILDavis personal weather station.
03:24 UTCTSTM WND GST 474 Ese SycamoreDe Kalb, ILDavis personal weather station.
03:25 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ne DekalbDe Kalb, ILDelayed report from 6/22. Approximately 8 inch diameter tree uprooted in DeKalb. Time estimated from radar.
03:37 UTCTORNADOElburnKane, ILDelayed report from 6/22. An NWS storm survey confirmed that an EF-0 tornado with estimated peak winds of 75 mph, path length of 2.3 miles, and maximum width of 300 yards impacted Elburn, causing damage to trees and a co
03:48 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nnw BataviaKane, ILNumerous large branches and trees downed, including one large Oak tree uprooted. Tree down into powerlines.
03:48 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nnw BataviaKane, ILNumerous large branches and trees downed, including one large Oak tree uprooted. Tree down into powerlines.
03:48 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nnw BataviaKane, ILNumerous large branches and trees downed, including one large Oak tree uprooted. Tree down into powerlines.
03:49 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nw BataviaKane, ILNumerous downed trees and large branches in the Randall Square area and near Fabyan Pkwy.
03:49 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nw BataviaKane, ILNumerous downed trees and large branches in the Randall Square area and near Fabyan Pkwy.
03:49 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nw BataviaKane, ILNumerous downed trees and large branches in the Randall Square area and near Fabyan Pkwy.
03:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ene BataviaKane, ILReported via social media that on the northeast side of Batavia had a lot of tree branches down including one full grown tree. Time approximated by radar.
03:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ene BataviaKane, ILReported via social media that on the northeast side of Batavia had a lot of tree branches down including one full grown tree. Time approximated by radar.
03:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ene BataviaKane, ILReported via social media that on the northeast side of Batavia had a lot of tree branches down including one full grown tree. Time approximated by radar.
03:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nnw BataviaKane, ILLarge branches down on Fabyan Rd.
03:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nnw BataviaKane, ILLarge branches down on Fabyan Rd.
03:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nnw BataviaKane, ILLarge branches down on Fabyan Rd.
03:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Wnw GenevaKane, ILTree reported down on a house on Maple Lane near Center Street.
03:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Wnw GenevaKane, ILTree reported down on a house on Maple Lane near Center Street.
03:50 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Wnw GenevaKane, ILTree reported down on a house on Maple Lane near Center Street.
03:51 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nw BataviaKane, ILTree down across Randall Rd. near Fabyan Parkway.
03:51 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nw BataviaKane, ILTree down across Randall Rd. near Fabyan Parkway.
03:51 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Nw BataviaKane, ILTree down across Randall Rd. near Fabyan Parkway.
03:54 UTCTSTM WND GST 481 Ene BataviaKane, ILDavis private weather station.
03:54 UTCTSTM WND GST 481 Ene BataviaKane, ILDavis private weather station.
03:54 UTCTSTM WND GST 481 Ene BataviaKane, ILDavis private weather station.
03:55 UTCTSTM WND GST 513 Sw West ChicagoDupage, ILDavis personal weather station.
03:55 UTCTSTM WND GST 513 Sw West ChicagoDupage, ILDavis personal weather station.
03:55 UTCTSTM WND GST 513 Sw West ChicagoDupage, ILDavis personal weather station.
03:58 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 S West ChicagoDupage, ILDelayed report from 6/22. Small carport lofted and thrown 100 feet into a fence. Large branches downed in the area as well.
03:58 UTCRAIN 4.751 Se WaucondaLake, ILRain measured near intersection of S. Main and Ivanhoe.
04:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGCarol StreamDupage, ILLarge willow tree down on fence.
04:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGCarol StreamDupage, ILLarge willow tree down on fence.
04:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGCarol StreamDupage, ILLarge willow tree down on fence.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of June 22, 2024

14 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 2211:46 AM EDTEF1Herkimer, NY2.0200$19,000
June 224:05 PM EDTEF1Gladwin, MI10.3200$100,000
June 225:37 PM CDTEF0Grant, WI0.240
June 226:02 PM CDTEF0Lafayette, WI5.675
June 226:36 PM CDTEF2Lafayette, WI6.9500$1.0 million
June 227:10 PM CDTEF1Jefferson, WI4.5300$3.0 million
June 227:30 PM CDTEF1Jefferson, WI2.0150$6,000
June 227:42 PM CDTEF2Rock, WI6.0700$25 million
June 228:22 PM CDTEF1Walworth, WI5.3100$100,000
June 228:22 PM CDTEF1Walworth, WI6.0150$150,000
June 228:42 PM CDTEF0Kenosha, WI1.440$3,000
June 2210:58 PM CDTEF0DuPage, IL7.8300
June 2211:08 PM CDTEF0DuPage, IL1.250
June 2211:13 PM CDTEF0DuPage, IL0.950

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.