Officials say it was an EF-1 tornado that struck the northwest side of Jacksonville Wednesday afternoon, June 18. It caused damage and several power outages.
National Weather Service field surveys determined the strength and path of the storm.
According to the NWS, the tornado touched down about 12:02 p.m. east of highway 104 and south of Lafayette Ave., tracking northeast. It caused damage to the Future Champions Sports Complex along Walnut St., tossing debris into the ball diamonds across the street.
It moved just west of the hospital and across a subdivision west of the airport, snapping a number of trees and destroying some small sheds. It lifted in a cornfield along Zimmer Rd.
The tornado, which traveled 3.6 miles, had peak winds of 100 m.p.h.
A total of 12 tornadoes have been confirmed across parts of central and west central Illinois Wednesday. They included:
South Jacksonville EF-0
An EF-0 tornado was confirmed in South Jacksonville, touching down near the intersection of US-67 and Old Airport Road, crossing I-72 about 3/4 mile east of exit 60.
Damage was mainly to tree branches along its path. It lifted just north of Diamond Grove Cemetery. This tornado had peak winds of 80 m.p.h.
The strongest tornado in the area that day, an EF-2 with 125 m.p.h. winds, touched down near a neighborhood northeast of the Jacksonville Airport where it damaged several large trees.
It continued northward and took down nearly a dozen large power poles along Substation Rd and caused significant damage to a farmstead and residence on Sorrill Rd.
As it continued north-northeast numerous trees were hit, corn was flattened, and metal outbuilding pieces were scattered about fields. The tornado lifted somewhere near the Morgan/Cass county line.
Pleasant Plains EF-1
An EF-1 tornado touched down about 3 miles south of Pleasant Plains, where it snapped several large trees at a farmstead along N Pleasant Plains Rd. Further northeast, it tossed a pair of grain bins across Watts Rd. Additional tree damage was observed downstream near both Claysville and Loyd, with shingles removed from a house along County Rd. 7 as well.
Petersburg EF-1
The tornado touched down along Ed Hinrichs Rd, where it caused minor damage to a couple trees. It then moved northeast, destroying 5 grain bins and topping hardwood trees at a farmstead along Gellerman Rd. The last observed damage was at a pair of homes along Newmansville Ave. Large, healthy limbs were blown out of hardwood trees, a row of 18 evergreen trees were topped, and shingles were removed from both homes.
Mason City EF-0
A brief tornado occurred approximately two miles northeast of Mason City. The tornado knocked over one tree, as well as a couple tree limbs and corn, along county road 1200 N before quickly dissipating.
Ashland EF-0
A narrow rope tornado formed in an open field about 2 miles south of Ashland. It tracked northeast and damaged a few hardwood trees then dissipated just south of Donnan Ln near the Morgan/Sangamon County line.
Lynnville EF-1
The main damage was a few broken power poles near the Scott/Morgan County line along old route 36. Corn was also flattened in this area, and a home had some shingle and fascia damage.
Farmer City EF-1
A tornado began in a cornfield near Buckeye Road, flattening corn as it progressed northeast. It impacted a farmstead south of the intersection of Depot and Leroy Roads, producing damage to trees and completely destroying a large farm outbuilding with estimated wind speeds of 100 mph.
The tornado continued northeast, producing tree and roof damage to another farmstead along Depot Road before tracking through a field for nearly two miles. The tornado eventually crossed Prairie Chapel Road, producing minor tree damage to a residence before quickly dissipating in a field to the northeast.
