Central Illinois

Weather Forecast Office

East Central Illinois Tornadoes of September 9, 2016

Overview

Severe thunderstorms produced tornadoes and heavy rain in parts of east central Illinois during the evening of Friday, September 9th, 2016. Four tornadoes occurred within a one hour period between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm. The strongest tornado was rated an EF2 in southeast Champaign County south of the towns of Sidney and Homer.

Tornado south of Homer at 6:41 pm. Image courtesy of Jeff Frame.

Tornado south-southeast of Sidney. Photo Courtesy of Jeff Frame

Tornado
Radar
Warning Timeline
Tornado History

Tornadoes:

Tornado #1: 3.6 miles south of Sidney to 2.5 miles south of Homer
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY

Date	9/9/2016
Time (Local)	6:31 - 6:50 pm CDT
EF Rating	EF2
Est. Peak Winds	125 mph
Path Length	6.3 miles
Max Width	75 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: The tornado touched down in a field 3.6 miles south of Sidney at 6:31 pm. The tornado damaged corn and bean fields as it tracked to the east-northeast. The tornado continued through fields for about 2 miles before damaging the roof of a house and destroying a garage and large shed. A car and a large RV were also damaged. A barn was destroyed less than one mile away, before the tornado moved into a cemetery. Several headstones and two trees were damaged. The tornado slightly turned more toward the east knocking over trees along 800 North road. The tornado then did the greatest damage to a farmstead where it destroyed three outbuildings and pushed a house off of its foundation, which caused it to collapse. The tornado dissipated about 2.5 miles south of Homer in a field.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File


Damage near Homer. NWS survey image	Tornado near Homer. Photo courtesy of Andrew Pritchard	Tornado south of Sidney. Photo courtesy of Will Wight


Radar tornado debris signature southwest of Homer (blue circle) at 6:44 pm.	Drone footage of tornado track. Photo courtesy of Jake Wolf	Grave markers tipped over southwest of Homer. NWS survey image

Tornado #2: 1.4 miles south of Casey
CLARK COUNTY

Date	9/9/2016
Time (Local)	6:44 - 6:45 pm CDT
EF Rating	EF0
Est. Peak Winds	70 mph
Path Length	0.1 mile
Max Width	10 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: The tornado briefly touched down in a field damaging crops, and dissipated shortly afterwards. This was the first tornado reported in Clark County since May 25, 2007.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File


Wall cloud near Martinsville. Photo courtesy Patti Self Daughhetee	Two wall clouds with funnels near Casey. Photo courtesy Quincy Vagell

Tornado #3 -- 3.5 miles south of Bismarck to 2.4 miles south of Bismarck
VERMILION COUNTY

Date	9/9/2016
Time (Local)	6:34 - 6:43 pm CDT
EF Rating	EF1
Est. Peak Winds	95 mph
Path Length	1.7 miles
Max Width	50 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: This tornado damaged some trees, took shingles off the roof of a house, and blew over a camper.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File


Overturned trailer near Bismarck. NWS survey photo	Broken tree near Bismarck. NWS survey photo

Tornado #4 - 2 miles southwest of Catlin
VERMILION COUNTY

Date	9/9/2016
Time (Local)	7:13 - 7:14 pm CDT
EF Rating	EF0
Est. Peak Winds	70 mph
Path Length	0.1 miles
Max Width	10 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: This tornado did minor damage to some crops while staying in open areas.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Radar:

Radar Images


Circulation seen on radar south of Sidney at 6:32 pm, just before tornado touchdown	Tornado debris signature southwest of Homer (blue circle) at 6:44 pm	Circulation seen on radar just east of Fairmount at 7:04 pm, which led to Catlin tornado	Circulation seen on radar southeast of Collison at 6:20 pm, which led to Bismarck tornado

Warning Timeline

Warning timeline for east central Illinois:

Time Issued	Tornado Warning Location	Expiration Time	Reports
6:09 pm	Southeast Champaign County	6:45 pm	Tornado touchdown 3.4 miles south of Sidney at 6:33 pm Warning issued 24 minutes before touchdown
6:23 pm	Southern Clark and southeast Cumberland Counties	7:15 pm	Tornado touchdown 1.4 miles south of Casey at 6:44 pm Warning issued 21 minutes before touchdown
6:25 pm	Northeast Vermilion County	7:00 pm	Tornado touchdown 3.5 miles south of Bismarck at 6:34 pm Warning issued 9 minutes before touchdown
6:44 pm	Southwest Vermilion and southeast Champaign Counties	7:15 pm	Tornado touchdown 2 miles southwest of Catlin at 7:13 pm Warning issued 29 minutes before touchdown
7:15 pm	Southeast Vermilion County	7:45 pm	No additional tornado reports
7:17 pm	Northeast Clark County	8:00 pm	No tornado reports

Area Tornado History


Champaign County tornadoes since 1950	Clark County tornadoes since 1950	Vermilion County tornadoes since 1950

Southern Champaign County has a history of tornadoes, with several strong tornadoes reported since 1950. While none took a similar track to this particular tornado, there were 3 that have affected the general area:

April 3, 1974 -- Part of the national "Super Outbreak" of 148 tornadoes, this F3 tornado touched down 4 miles south of Sidney, and moved northeast through the Homer Lake area.
August 28, 1984 -- An F1 tornado touched down in Homer and damaged 20 buildings
June 10, 2004 -- This F1 tornado touched down 3 miles south-southeast of Sidney, blowing out several windows of a house, and taking the barn off a roof.

Clark County tornadoes have been more sporadic, with only 9 reported since 1950, and none since 2007. Weak tornadoes have occurred near Casey in 1982, 1985, and 1990, with the latter (June 2, 1990) producing $25,000 damage.

In Vermilion County, several stronger tornadoes have affected areas near Bismarck over the years. The closest ones:

April 9, 1953 -- This F3 tornado originally moved in from central Champaign County, and cut across central Vermilion County before moving into Indiana. It was originally listed as a single tornado with a 38 mile path, but may have been 3 separate tornadoes.
July 21, 1961 -- This tornado touched down near Bismarck, and tracked eastward into Indiana.
April 3, 1974 -- Part of the national "Super Outbreak" of 148 tornadoes, this tornado touched down in the same general area as the 2016 tornado (2 miles southwest of Bismarck) and lifted 5 miles north of town. Significant damage occurred to homes on the west side of Bismarck, as well as the township high school.

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Heavy Rainfall and Flooding in the Southwest and Four Corners; Unsettled Weather in Florida

East Central Illinois Tornadoes of September 9, 2016