Tornadoes · United States · Illinois · 2025

EF2 tornado, Baden Baden to Mulberry Grove, Illinois, April 2, 2025

From Baden Baden to Mulberry Grove, this EF2 tornado ran 22.8 miles across Bond and Fayette counties on April 2, 2025, touching down at 5:05 PM CDT and reaching 200 yards wide. It killed nobody and injured 1, and did $385,000 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.

  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 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

    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
EF2
Date
April 2, 2025
Touchdown
5:05 PM CDT (22:05 UTC)
Lifted
5:29 PM CDT (22:29 UTC)
On the ground
24 minutes
Path length
22.8 miles (36.7 km)
Path width
200 yards (183 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
1
Property damage
$385,000
Counties
Bond and Fayette counties
Touchdown point
38.787, -89.542
Lift-off point
39.001, -89.222
Record number
2504021605-01

The damage survey

36 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LSX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 135 mph.

  • A little debris also on the ground.

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

During the afternoon and early evening of April 2, 2025, numerous strong to severe thunderstorms impacted southeast and east-central Missouri as well as south-central Illinois. Large hail, damaging wind, and a few tornadoes were observed. This activity occurred on the northwest extent of a significant tornado outbreak later that evening across the Ohio River Valley.

At approximately 5:05 PM a tornado began northwest of Pierron in Bond County, IL, damaging a few trees. The tornado tracked northeast over Dolls Orchard Avenue, causing further tree damage while paralleling Interstate 70 to the south. The most significant damage was surveyed at the intersection of Millersburg Road and Cottonwood Avenue, where several structures were almost completely destroyed and debris lofted for nearly a mile. One injury was reported at this location. Significant tree damage was also observed, with several large trunks being sheared off and bark peeled back. The tornado continued northeast through the southern fringe of Greenville, causing minor tree and structural damage. Further weakening was observed as the tornado approached Mulberry Grove, where a barn collapsed. In Bond County the tornado had a path length of 19.85 miles with a path width of 200 yards. The tornado was rated EF2.

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. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 21:20 UTC and running to 23:52 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
13:47 UTC21:00 UTCTornado WatchLSX
17:00 UTC22:41 UTCWind AdvisoryLSX
21:20 UTC23:52 UTCTornado WatchLSX
21:38 UTC22:30 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
22:11 UTC22:42 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLSX
22:16 UTC22:32 UTCTornado WarningLSX

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 Enhanced 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 19:57 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.

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 12:00Z

10.1 hours before the tornado, 155 km from the path. April 2, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2025-04-02Temperature 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 -8642, 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, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 2025-04-02The 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 948 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 64 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
-8642 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
864 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
64 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
61 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
948 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
1028 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
1.9
0-3 km lapse rate
2.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Lincoln, IL (KILX), 00:00Z

1.9 hours after it, 155 km from the path. April 3, 2025.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2025-04-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 205 joules per kilogram, CIN -103, lifted condensation level 1049 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, Lincoln, IL at 00:00Z on 2025-04-03The 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 192 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 76 knots.1939587897117Sfc1 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
205 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-103 J/kg
Surface CAPE
205 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1049 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
76 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
192 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
234 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
0.9
0-3 km lapse rate
5.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The St Louis radar (KLSX), 115 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:02 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
21:32 UTCTSTM WND GST 641 Ene CahokiaSt. Clair, ILREPORTED AT CPS.
21:38 UTCHAIL 1.251 W Fairview HeightsSt. Clair, ILReport from mPING: Half Dollar (1.25 in.).
21:40 UTCTSTM WND GST 603 Wnw BellevilleSt. Clair, IL
21:44 UTCHAIL 1.752 N O'FallonSt. Clair, ILReport from mPING: Golf Ball (1.75 in.).
21:55 UTCHAIL 0.7Saint JacobMadison, IL
22:05 UTCTORNADO1 Ene PierronBond, IL*** 1 INJ *** NWS survey team found that an EF-2 tornado formed in southwestern Bond County and generally tracked along I-70 northeastward into Fayette County.
22:12 UTCTSTM WND DMGAlbersClinton, ILTrees down.
22:14 UTCTORNADO2 Wnw DudleyvilleBond, IL3 homes damaged.
22:21 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 N ElktonWashington, ILSeveral large limbs broken off of trees.
22:21 UTCTSTM WND DMGBartelsoClinton, ILTrees down.
22:22 UTCTSTM WND DMGBeckemeyerClinton, ILTrees down.
22:37 UTCTSTM WND DMGRamseyFayette, ILMinor roof damage to a home.
22:40 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 W Tower HillShelby, IL3 inch tree limbs broken by high winds.
22:40 UTCTSTM WND DMGBeaucoupWashington, ILDamage to a farm building.
23:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGBeecher CityEffingham, ILPower pole snapped by high winds.
23:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGSalemMarion, ILReports of sporadic tree damage throughout the county, as well as a few downed powerlines near Salem.
23:07 UTCTSTM WND DMGAltamontEffingham, ILTwo apartment buildings in Altamont lost their roofs at the A Frame Apartments.
23:08 UTCTORNADO4 Sse AltamontEffingham, ILEF1 strength, max wind speed 105 mph, path length 2.55 miles. Tracked northeast. Much of the structural damage was concentrated along N. 500th St. north of E. 700th Ave., where a home lost a portion of its roof.
23:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Se AltamontEffingham, ILOutbuilding blown onto road. Time estimated from radar.
23:13 UTCFLASH FLOOD3 Sw Beecher CityEffingham, ILReport from mPING: Street/road flooding.
23:13 UTCFLASH FLOOD6 N AltamontEffingham, ILFlood roads in Moccasin from heavy rainfall.
23:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Nw WatsonEffingham, ILLarge branch broken off tree.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2025 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 2, 2025

87 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 25:13 AM CDTEF1Osage, OK3.7250$10,000
April 26:37 AM CDTEF1Tulsa, OK10.7600$575,000
April 27:29 AM CDTEF2Vernon, MO6.5200$500,000
April 27:30 AM CDTEF1Vernon, MO16.6200$1.2 million
April 28:34 AM CDTEF2Cooper, MO6.1200$100,000
April 211:00 AM MSTUnratedMaricopa, AZ0.55
April 23:13 PM CDTEF3Crawford, MO21.9200$685,000
April 23:16 PM CDTEF1Howell, MO1.1350$10,000
April 23:40 PM CDTEF0Logan, IL12.730
April 24:21 PM CDTEF0Madison, TN1.9150$50,000
April 25:00 PM CDTEF1Iroquois, IL2.3400
April 25:09 PM CDTEF0Iroquois, IL2.2300
April 25:32 PM CDTEF1Ripley, MO1.1125$185,000
April 25:56 PM CDTEF2Randolph, AR24.6500$250,000
April 25:56 PM CDTEF2Arkansas, AR8.3100
April 25:59 PM CDTEF1Poinsett, AR7.5400$50,000
April 26:08 PM CDTEF1Effingham, IL2.5125
April 26:13 PM CDTEF2Wayne, MO8.3175$630,000
April 26:21 PM CDTEF1Arkansas, AR0.950
April 26:23 PM CDTEF1Effingham, IL8.3100
April 26:26 PM CDTEF3Poinsett, AR24.21,5008$4.0 million
April 26:28 PM CDTEF2Craighead, AR14.4700$750,000
April 26:29 PM CDTEF0Cumberland, IL4.0150
April 26:32 PM CDTEF2Stoddard, MO14.7600$20 million
April 26:33 PM CDTEF2Cumberland, IL to IN48.91,200$200,000
April 26:36 PM CDTEF1Butler, MO13.4125$2.0 million
April 26:40 PM CDTEF0Poinsett, AR6.575$20,000
April 26:48 PM CDTEF1Lafayette, AR7.6250$135,000
April 27:52 PM EDTEF1Marshall, IN17.8175$610,000
April 26:56 PM CDTEF1Cape Girardeau, MO to IL8.0150$765,000
April 27:02 PM CDTEF1Clark, IL8.1200
April 27:08 PM CDTEF1Union, IL10.050$35,000
April 27:17 PM CDTEF1Lafayette, AR0.375$50,000
April 28:24 PM EDTEF1Parke, IN10.8120$200,000
April 27:25 PM CDTEF0Union, IL1.125$5,000
April 27:30 PM CDTEF1Scott, MO1.0250$600,000
April 27:35 PM CDTEF0Crittenden, AR3.175$30,000
April 27:35 PM CDTEF2Johnson, IL6.2250$525,000
April 27:46 PM CDTEF1Steuben, IN to MI10.8600$200,000
April 28:49 PM EDTEF1Branch, MI3.7125$50,000
April 27:51 PM CDTEF1Williamson, IL3.375$175,000
April 28:00 PM CDTEF2Carlisle, KY9.7200$180,000
April 29:05 PM EDTEF2Hendricks, IN13.02001$1.2 million
April 28:14 PM CDTEF1Saline, IL5.0300$85,000
April 29:15 PM EDTEF1Hendricks, IN1.5300$200,000
April 28:15 PM CDTEF1Dyer, TN4.7100$1.9 million
April 28:18 PM CDTEF2Ballard, KY18.21,0004$3.2 million
April 28:23 PM CDTEF1Gallatin, IL9.2100$170,000
April 29:28 PM EDTEF1Hamilton, IN6.6150$600,000
April 28:35 PM CDTEF1Obion, TN9.3350$325,000
April 29:43 PM EDTEF2Madison, IN to IL, KY2.1250$200,000
April 28:43 PM CDTEF2Livingston, IL to KY12.0150$235,000
April 29:46 PM EDTEF1Madison, IN11.6150$400,000
April 28:51 PM CDTEF2Vanderburgh, IN10.6150$3.4 million
April 28:52 PM CDTEF1Posey, IN1.175$1.2 million
April 29:52 PM EDTEF0Madison, IN4.9100$300,000
April 28:55 PM CDTEF1Vanderburgh, IN17.0230$1.2 million
April 29:57 PM EDTEF2Madison, IN15.2200$3.2 million
April 29:00 PM CDTEF2Weakley, TN6.4350$250,000
April 29:01 PM CDTEF1Vanderburgh, IN4.075$275,000

All 88 of them

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.