Quad Cities, IA/IL

Weather Forecast Office

April 4-5, 2023: Destructive Winds, Very Large Hail, & Tornadoes

Overview

Only days after the widespread tornado outbreak on March 31, 2023, multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms occurred across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and far northeast Missouri during Thursday, April 4 into early Friday, April 5, 2023.

Round 1 of thunderstorms began during the early morning hours of April 4 as a supercell thunderstorm developed across southeast Iowa. This storm quickly intensified and became severe as it approached and moved over the Quad Cities, producing very large hail from golf ball to tea cup size. The largest hailstones were measured in and around Davenport, where tea cup size hail was measured at the North Park Mall. Despite the apparent elevated nature of the storms and a very stable low level atmosphere, a strong surge of winds was produced south of the hail core over the Illinois side of the Quad Cities metro, with the Quad City Airport ASOS measuring a wind gust near 90 MPH. Extensive damage occurred from Rock Island to Colona IL to buildings, trees and power poles, with some structures seeing ripped-off roofs. An NWS Storm Survey Team determined a few brief tornadoes did occur as well.

Round 2 of severe thunderstorms arrived during the late afternoon of April 4, with all modes of severe weather seen. Most notably, am EF1 tornado developed near Industry IL, and tracked northeast through McDonough County into Fulton County.

Round 3 of severe thunderstorms arrived during the late overnight hours into the morning of April 5th, as a strong cold front moved across the area. A line of storms became severe as they reached the Mississippi River, producing wind gusts to 60 MPH and large hail, and even one brief tornado. Ping pong ball sized hail was observed near Nora, IL.

Surrounding Office Event Summaries

Supercell Time Step Image

30-min radar snapshots of the initial supercell formation near Ottumwa, IL around 7 A.M. to its passage near Chicago at 1:30 P.M.

Radar reflectivity of Supercell over the QC metro

Tornadoes:

Tornado #1 - 3 E Andalusia, IL
Rock Island County IL

Date	04/04/2023
Time (Local)	9:36 AM - 9:37 AM
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	105 mph
Path Length	1.1 miles
Max Width	25 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: A brief tornado caused sporadic damage to power poles, some trees and to some houses on its 1.1 mile path. Estimated wind speeds of 105 mph.

Track Map

Tornado #2 - Rock Island, IL
Rock Island County IL

Date	04/04/2023
Time (Local)	9:41 AM - 9:43 AM
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	95 mph
Path Length	1.6 miles
Max Width	150 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: A brief tornado touched down in Rock Island, Illinois. The tornado knocked over and snapped large trees and produced minor damage to several roofs. Widespread damaging straight line winds up to 90 mph also caused significant damage across the city.

Track Map

Tornado #3 - 1 S Moline
Rock Island County

Date	04/04/2023
Time (Local)	9:47 AM - 9:49 AM
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	100 MPH
Path Length	1.6 miles
Max Width	25 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: A brief EF-1 tornado caused damage to trees and roofs across its 1.6 mile long path. Eyewitness reports of the tornado and debris aided in the identification of this tornado.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

Tornado #3 - Colona, IL
Henry County IL

Date	04/04/2023
Time (Local)	9:57 AM - 9:58 AM
EF Rating	EF-2
Est. Peak Winds	115 mph
Path Length	0.43 miles
Max Width	50 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: A brief tornado developed Tuesday morning in Colona, IL, and was embedded in a broader swath of damaging straight line winds. The tornado moved through the northern portion of Colona, and was on the ground for about a half mile. The tornado was captured on video, ripping the entire roof off a gas station and tossing it into a brick building just to the south. The front wall of the building also collapsed. The tornado also uprooted trees, and caused minor house damage. The tornado was rated a low-end EF-2, with maximum winds around 115 mph.

Track Map

Tornado #4 - Geneseo, IL
Henry County IL

Date	04/04/2023
Time (Local)	10:15 AM - 10:19 AM
EF Rating	EF-2
Est. Peak Winds	115 mph
Path Length	2.8 miles
Max Width	600 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: A localized RFD surge on the south side of the broader HP supercell RFD caused a tornado to form. The EF-2 tornado with 115 mph winds begun just east of Geneseo at 10:15 AM. The path had sporadic damage based on eye-witness reports, it was a multiple-vortex tornado. Different suction vortices caused damage to farm buildings, trees, silos, and houses along its 2.8 mile long path. Many trees were uprooted or snapped in different directions. Most houses had uplift of shingles. Towards the end of the path, the tornado strengthened just before it occluded. EF-2 damage was found here as a power pole was snapped, four farm outbuildings were destroyed and the roof on the house was lifted, then put back down on the house.

Track Map

Tornado #5 - Industry, IL
McDonough County IL

Date	04/04/2023
Time (Local)	6:52 PM - 7:02 PM
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	105 mph
Path Length	8.3 miles
Max Width	350 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: The tornado touched down south of Industry, IL near Highway 67, damaging barns, outbuildings, and snapping many large hardwood trees. It continued to track to the northeast causing significant damage to several empty large grain bins and destroying a portion of a roof of a house. Occasional damage was found to trees, outbuildings, and grain bins across far east-central McDonough county as the tornado appeared to be dissipating just before the McDonough-Fulton county line.

Track Map

Tornado #6 - Woodhull, IL
Henry County IL

Date	04/05/2023
Time (Local)	4:48 AM - 4:53 AM
EF Rating	EF-0
Est. Peak Winds	85 mph
Path Length	3.12 miles
Max Width	50 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0 / 0
Summary: A brief tornado began just east of I-74 north of Woodhull damaging trees, a few outbuildings, and a home in its path. Home lost some shingles and partial roof on one side of the residence. Large tree branches snapped on farmstead property.

Track Map

Photos


Marion, IA (Rebecca Kopelman)	Davenport, IA (Maureen Murray)	Muscatine, IA (Brenda Papendorf)


Hail damage photos to a vehicle a little over one half mile north of the NorthPark Mall in Davenport, IA. (Kyle Bales)


Colona, IL Tornado Damage (NWS Survey)	Colona, IL Tornado Damage (NWS Survey)	Colona, IL Tornado Damage (NWS Survey)

Storm Reports



Nationwide Storm Reports (SPC)
Interactive Storm Reports Map (SPC)

April 4-5 Storm Reports

Environment

SPC Severe Weather Event Page April 4, 2023


Figure 1: SPC 1630z Day 1 Outlook	Figure 2: SPC 1630z Day 1 Tornado Probabilities	Figure 3: SPC 1630z Day 1 Hail Probabilities

Figure 2: SPC 1630z Day 1 Wind Probabilities	Figure 5: Mesoscale Discussion #453	Figure 6: Mesoscale Discussion #454

Figure 7: Tornado Watch #115 Area	Figure 8: 12Z DVN Sounding	Figure 9: 21Z DVN Sounding

Figure 9: 15Z Surface Analysis	Figure 10: Series of Surface Weather Maps

Research & More

NWS Quad Cities Research & Presentations on April 4, 2023:

A Not-So-Elevated Supercell from the Quad Cities-to-Chicago Area on April 4, 2023 - David Cousins, Matthew Friedlein, and Peter Speck. Central Iowa National Weather Association (NWA) Severe Storms and Doppler Radar Conference Oral Presentation - Ankeny, IA, March 2024.
A Not-So-Elevated Supercell from the Quad Cities-to-Chicago Area on April 4, 2023 - Peter Speck, Alexander Gibbs, and David Cousins. National Weather Association (NWA) Showcase Presentation - Kansas City, MO, September 2023.

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NWS Quad Cities Past Events Page: weather.gov/dvn/events