EF0 tornado, Fidelity to Macoupin Station, Illinois, March 14, 2024

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.

Rating

EF0

Date

March 14, 2024

Touchdown

7:46 AM CDT (12:46 UTC)

Lifted

7:48 AM CDT (12:48 UTC)

On the ground

2 minutes

Path length

2.8 miles (4.4 km)

Path width

200 yards (183 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Counties

Jersey and Macoupin counties

Touchdown point

39.071, -90.152

Lift-off point

39.088, -90.106

Record number

2403140646-01

52 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LSX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 85 mph.

• Shingles taken off dock roof

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

Just after sunrise, a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) produced five confirmed EF-0 tornadoes. Four of these occurred in rural south-central Illinois, and another tracked through Charlack, Missouri in northern St. Louis County. No reported injuries or fatalities with these tornadoes. Also, there were a few reports of damaging winds and large hail.

A weak tornado touched down 1.7 miles southwest of Fidelity in Jersey County, on Bowman Station Road. In this location is destroyed a small shed, snapped off several trees and tree limbs and damaged a power pole. It then tracked east northeast. As it crossed Fidelity Road it tore a carport off of a house and threw it into a nearby field. A bit further east it caused minor roof damage to a farm house, uprooted a large tree and caused damage to two older brick grain silos. Then the tornado tracked east into Macoupin County. The tornado was rated EF0 in Jersey County with a path length of 2.28 miles and a max path width of 75 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported.

As it moved into Macoupin County it crossed Illinois Route 111, just north of the intersection with Three Trees Road. As it crossed Piasa Road, it damaged a farm outbuilding and threw debris to the south in a nearby field. Then before lifting and dissipating 2.7 miles southeast of Fidelity, it snapped off a few large tree limbs. In Macoupin County the tornado was rated EF0 with a path length of 1.62 miles and a max path width of 75 yards. Overall, the tornado was rated EF0 with a path length of 3.90 miles and a max path width of 75 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported.

A weak tornado touched down 2.3 miles north northwest of Brighton in Jersey County, on W. Miles Station Road. In this area it destroyed a small outbuilding and damaged a pickup truck that was parked in it. It also caused minor to moderate roof damage to at least 4 other outbuildings, destroyed another small outbuilding and snapped off a couple of trees. As it tracked to the northeast, it crossed into Macoupin County. In Jersey County, the tornado was rated EF0 with a path length of 0.39 miles and a max path width of 200 yards.

After crossing into Macoupin County it damaged a small outbuilding throwing the debris west into a field that was just over the county line in Jersey County. As it continued to the northeast it crossed Illinois Route 111 uprooting a large tree. Before lifting and dissipating 3.8 miles north northeast of Brighton, it snapped off several power poles along Bachman Road. In Macoupin County the tornado was rated EF0 with a path length of 2.36 miles and a max path width of 200 yards. Overall, the tornado was rated EF0 with a path length of 2.75 miles and a max path width of 200 yards. No deaths or injuries were reported.

A weak tornado touched down 4.7 miles southwest of Carlinville on Shipman Road. At this location, it damaged a couple of small sheds, snapped off several large tree limbs, blew down a large tree and caused minor shingle damage to a house. As the tornado tracked to the southeast, it snapped off several more tree limbs and caused minor roof damage to another house on Stagecoach Road before lifting and dissipating 4.2 miles south southeast of Carlinville. Overall, the tornado was rated EF0 with a path length of 2.13 miles and a maximum width of 100 yards. The maximum sustained winds were estimated to be near 80 mph. No deaths or injuries were reported.

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

18 minutes of warning. NWS LSX issued a tornado warning for this county at 12:28 UTC, 18 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 12:50 UTC.

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 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 06:00 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 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

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

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

24 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.