EF4 Perryville tornado, Missouri and Illinois, February 28, 2017

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 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 mphthis tornado

   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

EF4

Date

February 28, 2017

Touchdown

7:51 PM CST (01:51 UTC)

Lifted

8:57 PM CST (02:57 UTC)

On the ground

66 minutes

Path length

53.5 miles (86.0 km)

Path width

1,100 yards (1006 m)

Deaths

1

Injuries

12

Property damage

$15 million

Counties

Perry, Randolph, Jackson and Franklin counties

Touchdown point

37.724, -90.005

Lift-off point

37.950, -89.071

Record number

1702281951-01

111 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LSX and NWS PAH, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF4. The highest wind the damage implies is 180 mph.

• Barn roof collapsed. Damage 50 yards wide.
• House swept clean of foundation and debris thrown up to a mile down wind. Complete loss. House was sitting on block foundation unattached to anything. Debris shredded with nothing larger than an occasional 2X4 and piece of siding.
• Tree line shows many snapped trees along with debris from the house.
• Loss of roof and one wall.

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

Isolated supercell thunderstorms developed across southeast Missouri during the evening hours. The storms developed ahead of a cold front in a destabilizing air mass characterized by dew points in the lower to mid 60's. The most intense supercell storm awaited the approach of a mid-level impulse from Oklahoma, which was downstream from the primary shortwave trough over the southern Plains. The supercell produced a violent tornado in Perry County. A southwesterly low-level jet increased substantially during the evening, creating favorable conditions for tornadoes. Outside of the thunderstorm activity, some of the southwest winds aloft mixed down to the surface in the form of isolated gusts from 40 to 45 mph.

Isolated supercell thunderstorms moved into southern Illinois during the evening hours. The storms developed ahead of a cold front in a destabilizing air mass characterized by dew points in the lower to mid 60's. The most intense supercell storm awaited the approach of a mid-level impulse from Oklahoma, which was downstream from the primary shortwave trough over the southern Plains. The supercell produced two long-track strong tornadoes, the first of which originated in Perry County, Missouri and tracked almost 50 miles before dissipating. The second strong tornado formed in the Wabash Valley and crossed into southwest Indiana. A southwesterly low-level jet increased substantially during the evening, creating favorable conditions for tornadoes.

This large and violent tornado touched down about four miles west of Perryville. The tornado quickly became violent, reaching EF-4 intensity and leveling five homes just west of Interstate 55, about 3.5 miles northwest of Perryville. Numerous unoccupied cars from a salvage yard were blown into or over Interstate 55. The lone fatality occurred when a southbound vehicle on Interstate 55 was intercepted by the tornado. The victim's pickup truck was tossed into a field at least 100 yards from the interstate. The coroner reported that the victim was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. The passenger in the vehicle was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital. The area of greatest home and property destruction was three miles north of Perryville, in the vicinity of U.S. Highway 61. Maximum wind speeds were estimated near 180 mph in the vicinity of Interstate 55 and also near U.S. Highway 61. The damage path showed multiple vortex characteristics with ground striations and scarring to bare ground. At least 100 homes were damaged or destroyed in Perry County, mostly on the northern outskirts of Perryville. Most persons in the tornado's path took shelter in their basements. All twelve tornado injuries occurred in Perry County, where the tornado was at its strongest. At least one couple was trapped in their basement until rescuers removed debris. As the tornado approached the Mississippi River, multiple ground striations were noted in a farm field, indicative of multiple vortices. The maximum path width was over one-half mile shortly before the tornado crossed the Mississippi River into Randolph County, Illinois.

This large tornado entered Jackson County from Randolph County near the community of Rockwood. The tornado originally began near Perryville, Missouri, where it achieved its peak intensity in the EF-4 category. The tornado crossed the entire width of Jackson County, entering the county about two miles from the Mississippi River. The tornado passed just south of Ava, clipped the southern edge of Vergennes, and then passed near the north edge of Elkville before exiting the northeast corner of the county. In Jackson County, the tornado reached a maximum intensity of EF-3 on the south end of Vergennes. Winds estimated near 145 mph destroyed a house. The wood house was not securely anchored to the foundation, and other construction details suggested wind speeds were below the EF-4 category. Elsewhere in Jackson County, the tornado passed through mainly rural farmlands and woods. Thousands of large trees were snapped and uprooted, and dozens of homes and other structures were damaged or destroyed. The tornado remained quite wide, nearly one-third of a mile at times. The average path width in Jackson County was about 600 yards. The tornado continued east-northeast into Franklin County.

This large tornado entered Franklin County from Jackson County. The tornado originally formed near Perryville, Missouri. The most intense damage in Franklin County was located south of Mulkeytown, where the tornado was rated EF-3 based on a house that was swept clean off its foundation. Debris was thrown up to a mile downwind. The debris was shredded, with nothing larger than 2-by-4 wood pieces. However, the house was sitting on a block foundation, unattached to anything. Based on the lack of any anchors for the house, peak winds were estimated near 160 mph at this site. Most of the other damage in this rural area of Franklin County consisted of snapped trees, heavily damaged barns, and a few damaged houses. The tornado rapidly weakened from EF-3 intensity to complete dissipation during the final two miles of its path. The average path width in Franklin County was 340 yards. The total path length starting near Perryville, Missouri was nearly 50 miles. The tornado dissipated just southwest of Christopher.

The deaths

1 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.

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

11 minutes of warning. NWS PAH issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:40 UTC, 11 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:15 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 20:21 UTC and running to 02:31 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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 00:57 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 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.

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:50 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.

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 2017 tornado in MissouriEvery tornado in Missouri since 1950Warnings in force in Missouri nowThe forecast where you are

29 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.