Five tornadoes reported in Central Illinois as part of June 29th derecho

Posted: Jul 1, 2023 / 06:00 AM CDT

Updated: Jul 1, 2023 / 02:36 AM CDT

While widespread damage was caused by destructive winds of up to 80 mph, just as this line of storms was reaching its apex, a number of rotations were able to be spotted on radar. Several short-lived tornado warnings were issued, and so far 5 tornadoes have been confirmed by the National Weather Service in Lincoln. Thankfully, nobody was killed or even injured by these tornadoes.

| READ: Thursday’s storms classified as a “Derecho”

1 of the tornadoes was rated EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which is considered to be a strong tornado, while the other 4 were determined to be EF-1, which is considered a moderate tornado. Below are the tracks, statistics, and descriptions of the tornadoes as reported by the National Weather Service in Lincoln.

EF-2 CURRAN / CHATHAM TORNADO

A majority of the tornado damage was assessed to be of EF-1 strength. However, near the origin of this tornado, just south of Curran, a home had a section of its roof torn off, indicating EF-2 strength was present early.

EF-1 LINCOLN TORNADO

Tornado was reported to have begun around the Eaton Plant. As this tornado was close to I-55 north of town, it caused some damage as it neared the interstate, bringing down power lines near Exit 133. The NWS said that this tornado only missed their office by a mere 2 miles.

EF-1 SHARPSBURG TORNADO

This tornado began east of Sangchris Lake State Park. The majority of the damage was done to trees in the area, however a farm building made out of metal was taken down by the tornado before it finally dissipated south of Sharpsburg.

EF-1 WAYNESVILLE / WAPELLA TORNADO

This began in Logan County and shortly thereafter cross the county line over into De Witt County. A farm building was taken down as it moved south of Waynesville, but this tornado did happen to make its way into the town of Wapella, where it was reported to have been at its widest. Trees and homes took damage as it moved through town, but as mentioned earlier, no injuries were reported.

EF-1 TAYLORVILLE TORNADO

This tornado began just east of Highway 29, between Sharpsburg and Taylorville. Aside from damage taken by a house northeast of Taylorville, this tornado caused only tree damage.

The tornadoes seen Thursday were the first ones in the WCIA-3 viewing area since the widespread severe weather event of March 31st, which brought 11 tornadoes to the area. This brings the tornado count on the year to 28.