MAROA, Ill. (WCIA) – Last night the National Weather Service office in Lincoln confirmed a 9th tornado from the storms that rolled in on January 3. The office rated it as an EF-1 with peak wind speeds up to 80 mph and a length less than half of a mile on the northeast side of Decatur. It caused damage near Richland Community College. The full summary of the storm can be found below.

Decatur #2 Tornado
MACON COUNTY

Date1/3/2023
Time (Local)6:05 – 6:06 pm CST
EF RatingEF-0
Est. Peak Winds80 mph
Path Length0.40 miles
Max Width0.20 yards
Injuries/Deaths0 / 0
Summary:The tornado moved through the southern and eastern parts of Richland Community College doing minor damage. The tornado touched down near a parking lot and moved several trailers. As it moved northeast, it damage a couple of trees, with part of one tree blown out into a field. It also damaged a fence and moved multiple car parts around on the north side of a building. Insulation and debris from the abandoned bowling alley to the southwest was found in a tree and out in some fields to the east of the campus.

On January 3rd, afternoon storms escalated to severe limits after sunshine increased instability across parts of Central Illinois. So far storm reports include four spots of large hail and 9 tornadoes confirmed by the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service office in Lincoln assessed damage in Macon, Sangamon, Christian, McLean and Logan counties. The Chicago office surveyed damage outside of Gibson City.

In Maroa, a silo and neighborhood fencing was damaged by a reported tornado. Meteorologist Jacob Dickey was in the Stormtracker to get video of the structure as it was hit. Below is video from our coverage of the severe weather event.

 A shot of a tornado southeast of Gibson City from around 6pm last night. Damage reported on county road 200 E just east of highway 47 and southeast of town. Picture from Brystal Deer.

Below is a slideshow of damage pictures taken on the next morning of Gibson City’s storm from Meteorologist Jacob Dickey. The National Weather Service office in Chicago has confirmed a tornado southeast of town. They have rated it as an EF-1 with winds estimated up to 100 mph.

Below are some clips from the severe weather coverage from that evening.

Storm Reports from NWS/SPC from across the region as of 1 PM

Hail:

2317150FARMER CITYDE WITTIL40248864DELAYED REPORT. PICTURE OF HAIL JUST UNDER GOLF BALL SIZE SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. (ILX)

Tornado:

21522 WNW ILLIOPOLISSANGAMONIL39868928CONFIRMED TORNADO SPOTTED IN RURAL AREA WEST NORTHWEST OF ILLIOPOLIS MOVING NORTHEAST. (ILX)
22053 SW LATHAMLOGANIL39948920(ILX)
22361 W MAROAMACONIL40048897CORRECTS PREVIOUS TORNADO REPORT FROM 1 W MAROA. CORRECTS TIME ON PREVIOUS TORNADO REPORT FROM 1 W MAROA AND CORRECTS OUTBUILDING DAMAGED INSTEAD OF GRAIN BIN. OUTBUILD (ILX)
22381 W MAROAMACONIL40048897GRAIN BIN DAMAGED WITH DEBRIS ON ROADWAY NEAR US-51 AND WASHINGTON ST. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. (ILX)
23054 ENE MOUNT AUBURNCHRISTIANIL39788919(ILX)
23572 NE DECATURMACONIL39878893SPOTTER WATCHED TORNADO CROSS ROAD. VIDEO FROM AFTER THE STORM PASSED SHOWS DEBRIS SCATTERED ABOUT ROAD AND ADJACENT FIELD. (ILX)
23593 SSE GIBSON CITYFORDIL40438835PHOTO SHARED VIA LOCAL BROADCAST MEDIA SHOWS A TORNADO SOUTHEAST OF GIBSON CITY. FORD COUNTY EM CONFIRMS TWO HOMESTEADS SOUTHEAST OF GIBSON CITY SUSTAINED DAMAGE FROM T (LOT)

Tornado Rankings From The National Weather Service:

Maroa Tornado – Maroa, IL
Macon County

Date1/3/2023
Time (Local)4:35-4:38 pm CST
EF RatingEF-1
Est. Peak Winds110 mph
Path Length0.89 miles
Max Width75 yards
Injuries/Deaths0/0
Summary: The tornado that occurred 3.5 miles southwest of Maroa touched down again just west of the intersection of US-51 and Washington St in Maroa. It completely destroyed a barn and tossed the remains of a grain bin across the highway. A fence was also destroyed just east of US-51 near the end of N. Sycamore St. The tornado dissipated just southwest of an RV dealership.

SW Maroa Tornado – ~3 miles SW of Maroa, IL
Macon County

Date1/3/2023
Time (Local)4:33 pm CST
EF RatingEF-0
Est. Peak Winds70 mph
Path Length0.31 miles
Max Width25 yards
Injuries/Deaths0/0
Summary: This tornado briefly touched down along Bearsdale Rd north of School Rd, damaging a power pole and irrigation unit.

Decatur Tornado – Decatur, IL
Macon County

Date1/3/2023
Time (Local)5:57-5:58 pm CST
EF RatingEF-1
Est. Peak Winds90 mph
Path Length0.20 miles
Max Width25 yards
Injuries/Deaths0/0
Summary: This tornado caused damage to an abandoned bowling alley on N. 22nd St, removing several wall panels on the southeast corner of the building and blowing them northeast. A storm spotter watched the tornado cross N. 22nd St before lifting.

Illiopolis Tornado – Illiopolis, IL
Sangamon County

Date1/3/2023
Time (Local)3:52 pm CST
EF RatingEF-Unknown
Est. Peak WindsN/A
Path LengthN/A
Max WidthN/A
Injuries/Deaths0/0
Summary: A trained spotter reported a brief tornado touchdown in an open field, causing no damage.

Latham Tornado – Latham, IL
Logan County

Date1/2/2023
Time (Local)4:05 pm CST
EF RatingEF-Unknown
Est. Peak WindsN/A
Path LengthN/A
Max Width10 yards
Injuries/Deaths0/0
Summary: A storm spotter saw a brief tornado touchdown, causing no damage.

Mt. Auburn Tornado – Mt. Auburn, IL
Sangamon County

Date1/2/2023
Time (Local)5:05 pm CST
EF RatingEF-Unknown
Est. Peak WindsN/A
Path LengthN/A
Max WidthN/A
Injuries/Deaths0/0
Summary: Law enforcement reported a brief tornado touchdown east-northeast of Mt. Auburn, causing no damage.

Bellflower Tornado – ~3 miles SE of Bellflower, IL
McLean County

Date1/3/2023
Time (Local)5:40 pm CST
EF RatingEF-1
Est. Peak Winds110 mph
Path Length0.5 miles
Max Width25 yards
Injuries/Deaths0/0
Summary: THE TORNADO TOUCHDOWN JUST SOUTHWEST OF A FARMSTEAD SOUTHEAST OF BELLFLOWER AND MOVED NORTHEAST DESTROYING A FARM OUTBUILDING AND SPLATTERING DIRT AND GRASS ON THE EAST-FACING SIDE OF THE HOUSE. THE DEBRIS FROM THE OUTBUILDING WAS BLOWN NORTHEAST OUT INTO THE FIELD AT LEAST ONE QUARTER OF A MILE. THE HOME OWNER WATCHED THE TORNADO CROSS NORTH 4100 EAST ROAD, SOUTHWEST OF THEIR HOUSE AND MOVE TOWARD THEIR PROPERTY.

Gibson City Tornado – ~3 miles S of Gibson City, IL
Ford County

Date1/3/2023
Time (Local)5:56 pm CST
EF RatingEF-1
Est. Peak Winds100 mph
Path Length2.9 miles
Max Width25 yards
Injuries/Deaths0/0
Summary: A National Weather Service damage survey found that an EF-1 tornado occurred near Gibson City, IL on the evening of January 3, 2023. The tornado touched down in an open field east of State Route 47 where it proceeded to track northeast for 2.9 miles causing damage to two homesteads before dissipating in a field east of 700 East Road. Both homesteads sustained roof damage to the residences in addition to damage to outbuildings. The northern most property sustained total destruction of their pole barn with debris thrown northeastward into a nearby field, which is consistent with 100 mph wind rating.

Decatur #2 Tornado
MACON COUNTY

Date1/3/2023
Time (Local)6:05 – 6:06 pm CST
EF RatingEF-0
Est. Peak Winds80 mph
Path Length0..40 miles
Max Width0.20 yards
Injuries/Deaths0 / 0
Summary:The tornado moved through the southern and eastern parts of Richland Community College doing minor damage. The tornado touched down near a parking lot and moved several trailers. As it moved northeast, it damage a couple of trees, with part of one tree blown out into a field. It also damaged a fence and moved multiple car parts around on the north side of a building. Insulation and debris from the abandoned bowling alley to the southwest was found in a tree and out in some fields to the east of the campus.