June 5, 2010 Tornado Outbreak

Tornado touchdown near Yates City, IL.  Photo by Jarrod Cook.

Convective outlook from Storm Prediction Center, issued 3 pm.

Tornado outlook from Storm Prediction Center, issued 3 pm.  Blue hatched area indicates a 10% or greater chance of tornadoes at least EF-2 intensity.

• EF SCALE:  EF-0 (less than 70 mph)
• INITIAL TOUCHDOWN:  3.2 miles northeast of Abingdon at 7:34 pm
• MAXIMUM WIDTH:  10 yards
• LIFTED:  3.3 miles northeast of Abingdon at 7:35 pm
• TOTAL PATH LENGTH:  0.1 mile

• EF SCALE:  EF-2 (130 mph)
• INITIAL TOUCHDOWN:  4.5 miles west-northwest of Yates City (Knox County) at 7:56 pm
• MAXIMUM WIDTH:  50 yards
• LIFTED:  1 mile east of Elmwood (Peoria County) at 8:07 pm
• TOTAL PATH LENGTH:  7.8 miles

• EF SCALE:  EF-1 (95 mph)
• INITIAL TOUCHDOWN:  2.6 miles east of Elmwood at 8:10 pm
• MAXIMUM WIDTH:  100 yards
• LIFTED:  4.1 miles west-southwest of Kickapoo at 8:18 pm
• TOTAL PATH LENGTH:  4.9 miles

• EF SCALE:  EF-1 (95 mph)
• INITIAL TOUCHDOWN:  4 miles west-southwest of Kickapoo at 8:18 pm
• MAXIMUM WIDTH:  75 yards
• LIFTED:  0.7 miles north of Edwards at 8:24 pm
• TOTAL PATH LENGTH:  3.9 miles

• EF SCALE:  EF-0 (85 mph)
• INITIAL TOUCHDOWN:  6.5 miles northwest of downtown Peoria at 8:32 pm
• MAXIMUM WIDTH:  100 yards
• LIFTED:  5.6 miles north-northwest of downtown Peoria at 8:35 pm
• TOTAL PATH LENGTH:  2.0 miles

• EF SCALE:  EF-1 (95 mph) -- Marshall County segment only 
• INITIAL TOUCHDOWN:  3.8 miles north-northwest of Wenona (Marshall County) at 8:34 pm
• MAXIMUM WIDTH:  100 yards -- Marshall County segment only
• TOTAL PATH LENGTH:  0.8 mile in Marshall County

This tornado crossed into LaSalle County 3.7 miles north-northwest of Wenona - across I-39, at 8:35 pm, and continued east through Streator before lifting near the Livingston County border.

• EF SCALE:  EF-2 (125 mph)
• INITIAL TOUCHDOWN:  2.9 miles north of Washington (Tazewell County) at 8:51 pm
• MAXIMUM WIDTH:  250 yards
• LIFTED:  2.6 miles south-southeast of Metamora (Woodford County) at 8:58 pm
• TOTAL PATH LENGTH:  3.1 miles

• EF SCALE:  EF-0 (80 mph)
• INITIAL TOUCHDOWN:  3.2 miles west-southwest of Beason (Logan County) at 10:57 pm
• MAXIMUM WIDTH:  300 yards
• LIFTED:  3.5 miles southeast of Kenney (DeWitt County) at 11:15 pm
• TOTAL PATH LENGTH:  12 miles

7:34 pm:

Tornado touches down northeast of Abingdon.  While the reflectivity image (left) does not show a well organized structure, the velocity image (right) shows a significant rotation northeast of Abingdon, as indicated by the bright green and bright red shades near each other.

7:57 pm:

These images were taken about 1 minute after a tornado touched down northwest of Yates CIty.  The reflectivity image on left shows the classic "hook echo", while the circulation in the velocity image is stronger than earlier. 

The hook echo began to appear around 7:43 pm, although storm reports and damage surveys did not show any tornado occurring between 7:35 and 7:56 pm.

8:01 pm:

The tornado is just north of Yates City, and is close to crossing the border into Peoria County.

8:06 pm:

The tornado is moving through Elmwood, and will lift 1 minute later.  The hook echo persists.  The higher reflectivities on the tip of the hook (red pixels directly over Elmwood in the left image) is likely being caused by debris being detected by the radar.

8:11 pm:

A new tornado has touched down 1 minute earlier, about 2.6 miles east of Elmwood. 

8:15 pm:

The tornado remains on the ground between Elmwood and Kickapoo, and will lift 3 minutes after these images were taken.

8:20 pm:

The previous tornado has lifted, and a new tornado touches down 4 miles west-southwest of Kickapoo at 8:18 pm.  The radar still shows strong rotation (right image) and a hook echo (left image).

8:24 pm:

The tornado lifts just north of Edwards at this time.  While a strong rotation is still indicated, the hook echo is losing its structure.