Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2024
EF1 tornado, Reilly, Illinois, June 5, 2024
This EF1 tornado ran 1.2 miles across Vermilion County on June 5, 2024, touching down at 8:27 AM CDT and reaching 100 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.
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 5, 2024
- Touchdown
- 8:27 AM CDT (13:27 UTC)
- Lifted
- 8:29 AM CDT (13:29 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 1.2 miles (1.9 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Vermilion County
- Touchdown point
- 40.415, -87.814
- Lift-off point
- 40.425, -87.797
- Record number
- 2406050727-01
The damage survey
6 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 95 mph.
- Damaged to several grain bins south of East Lynn.
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 cluster of thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front during the pre-dawn hours, and eventually formed a small bowing segment as they progressed across central Illinois during the morning. These storms produced isolated instances of wind damage, as well as a brief EF-1 tornado in Vermilion County.
An EF-1 tornado touched down about 3.5 miles south of East Lynn along E 3800 North Road, where it completely destroyed seven grain bins and tossed the debris for about a half mile to the east-northeast. A couple power poles were snapped at that location as well. The tornado moved to the east-northeast as it damaged trees, home siding, and the roof of an outbuilding along N 770 East Road. The tornado then progressed in a more northerly direction as it damaged some trees at a residence about a half mile to the north, before dissipating in the field to the northeast after being on the ground for a total of two minutes.
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 Lincoln, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jun 5, 6:05 AM CDT, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- A cold front is passing through central Illinois this morning, bringing showers and thunderstorms ahead of it. The front should exit to the east of Illinois around early afternoon.
- A mainly dry pattern sets up starting this afternoon. A small (10- 20% chance) opportunity for rain arrives this weekend as some MCS type systems pass to our south.
- High temperatures stay in the mid to upper 70s through next Wednesday, before warming back up into the 80s for late next week.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 5, 6:05 AM CDT, 2 hours 22 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion...Updated Aviation National Weather Service Lincoln IL 605 AM CDT Wed Jun 5 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - A cold front is passing through central Illinois this morning, bringing showers and thunderstorms ahead of it. The front should exit to the east of Illinois around early afternoon. - A mainly dry pattern sets up starting this afternoon. A small (10- 20% chance) opportunity for rain arrives this weekend as some MCS type systems pass to our south. - High temperatures stay in the mid to upper 70s through next Wednesday, before warming back up into the 80s for late next week. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 244 AM CDT Wed Jun 5 2024 As the cold front approaches from the west this morning, some showers and thunderstorms push across central Illinois just ahead of it. Severe threats appear to be low with these storms. These storms will be scattered in a semi-line formation. As it works eastward, locally heavy rainfall is possible. The activity should be out of the area by 18/19z this early afternoon (based on the 06z HRRR), exiting to the east into Indiana. There is secondary weak cold front that will pass through overnight, which could cause some showers to pop up in our far northern counties of the CWA. However, confidence is low so only have 15-20% POPs in the forecast for late this evening through tonight. Once these fronts pass, a surface ridging pattern sets up to our southwest and a upper trough sets up to our northwest, trapping us in the middle. This will allow a mostly dry period for the extended forecast. The next tiny chance for rain comes Saturday and Sunday as MCS activity transverses to our south. There is a 10-20% chance that the systems move just north enough to affect our southern portion of the CWA. As we move closer we can get a better idea of the exact location of these southern MCS systems and if they will directly affect us here in central and southeastern Illinois. Daytime temperatures following this cold front will hang around the mid to upper 70s through next Wednesday. Then it will warm back up into the 80s starting Wednesday afternoon. CPC shows below normal temperatures for the 6-10 day period and near normal to above for the 8-14 day period. Copple && .AVIATION... (For the 12z TAFs through 12z Thursday Morning) Issued at 605 AM CDT Wed Jun 5 2024 A cold front will sweep across the central IL terminals through the morning, producing scattered TSRA for the I-72 corridor southward through 14Z, as well as a band of MVFR cigs. This region of MVFR cigs will last a few hours, then clear out as VFR conditions return for the remainder of the forecast period. Winds SW around 10 kts before the front arrives, followed by NW winds 10-15 kts with gusts around 20 kts after 16Z-20Z. Winds diminishing after 03Z. 37 && .ILX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 5, 5:12 AM CDT, 3 hours 15 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Lincoln IL 512 AM CDT Wed Jun 5 2024 ILZ027>031-036>038-040>043-047>050-061100- Knox-Stark-Peoria-Marshall-Woodford-Fulton-Tazewell-McLean-Schuyler- Mason-Logan-De Witt-Cass-Menard-Scott-Morgan- 512 AM CDT Wed Jun 5 2024 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois and west central Illinois. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Isolated thunderstorms are possible early this morning. These are not expected to be severe. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated through tonight. ILZ044>046-051>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-061100- Piatt-Champaign-Vermilion-Sangamon-Christian-Macon-Moultrie-Douglas- Coles-Edgar-Shelby-Cumberland-Clark-Effingham-Jasper-Crawford-Clay- Richland-Lawrence- 512 AM CDT Wed Jun 5 2024 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for central Illinois, east central Illinois and southeast Illinois. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Scattered thunderstorms are possible through early afternoon. An isolated storm could be strong to severe with damaging wind gusts and large hail being the primary threats. Heavy rainfall could lead to localized flooding in urban and poor drainage areas. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed through early afternoon. Expected storm motion is toward the northeast around 30 mph. 37
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jun 5, 7:34 AM CDT, 53 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Jun 5, 7:35 AM CDT, 52 minutes before
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</html>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.
Lincoln, IL (KILX), 12:00Z
1.5 hours before the tornado, 74 km from the path. June 5, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 170 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -72 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 560 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 968 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 12 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -113 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -66 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- -0.1
- Supercell composite
- -1.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.6 K/km
The surface observations
Danville (DNV), 30 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), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 13:29 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 2024 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of June 5, 2024
23 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 5 | 1:19 PM EDT | EF0 | Crawford, MI | 0.3 | 90 | $21,000 | ||
| June 5 | 3:30 PM EDT | EF1 | Wayne, MI | 5.8 | 450 | 1 | 2 | |
| June 5 | 4:04 PM EDT | EF0 | Berkeley, WV | 0.9 | 65 | $100,000 | ||
| June 5 | 4:29 PM EDT | EF0 | Berkeley, WV | 1.7 | 110 | $25,000 | ||
| June 5 | 4:58 PM EDT | EF0 | Jefferson, WV | 1.3 | 130 | $50,000 | ||
| June 5 | 5:40 PM EDT | EF0 | Washington, MD | 0.6 | 50 | |||
| June 5 | 6:42 PM EDT | EF0 | Loudoun, VA | 1.1 | 125 | $250,000 | ||
| June 5 | 7:01 PM EDT | EF1 | Montgomery, MD | 8.8 | 150 | $1.0 million | ||
| June 5 | 7:27 PM EDT | EF1 | Montgomery, MD | 15.2 | 150 | 5 | $5.0 million | |
| June 5 | 7:42 PM EDT | EF0 | Carroll, MD | 0.7 | 100 | $250,000 | ||
| June 5 | 6:43 PM CDT | EF1 | Itawamba, MS to AL | 3.4 | 300 | $10,000 | ||
| June 5 | 6:52 PM CDT | EF1 | Fayette, AL | 7.2 | 325 | |||
| June 5 | 7:59 PM EDT | EF2 | Carroll, MD | 4.4 | 100 | $5.0 million | ||
| June 5 | 7:59 PM EDT | EF2 | Carroll, MD | 4.4 | 100 | $5.0 million | ||
| June 5 | 8:02 PM EDT | EF0 | Delaware, OH | 0.3 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| June 5 | 7:06 PM CDT | EF1 | Franklin, AL | 12.9 | 225 | |||
| June 5 | 8:31 PM EDT | EF0 | Howard, MD | 0.9 | 75 | $3.0 million | ||
| June 5 | 8:43 PM EDT | EF0 | Knox, OH | 3.3 | 80 | $30,000 | ||
| June 5 | 8:45 PM EDT | EF1 | City of Baltimore, MD | 3.3 | 175 | $12 million | ||
| June 5 | 9:01 PM EDT | EF0 | City of Baltimore, MD | 0.4 | 90 | $250,000 | ||
| June 5 | 9:27 PM EDT | EF1 | Baltimore, MD | 0.9 | 110 | $5.0 million | ||
| June 5 | 10:56 PM EDT | EF0 | Licking, OH | 0.6 | 150 | $15,000 | ||
| June 5 | 12:37 AM EDT | EF2 | Muskingum, OH | 1.3 | 120 | 8 |
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.