November 17th -- 10 Year Anniversary of Washington EF4 Tornado

Photos:
Above -- Tornado track in the dirt,
courtesy Illinois Emergency Management Agency

Top right -- Tornado striking Washington. Photo by
Kirk Roberts

Lower right -- Overall tornado track

November 17th marks the 10 year anniversary of Illinois' largest November tornado outbreak on record, when 25 tornadoes struck the state. One of these tornadoes peaked at EF4 intensity as it went through Washington, producing an maximum estimated wind speed of 190 mph and causing over $800 million in damage. Three fatalities occurred and 125 people were injured along its 46 mile path.

We have put together an ArcGIS StoryMap to review the events of that day. We include a timeline of forecast information leading up to the event, radar imagery, tornado and damage photos, and an interactive mapping to zoom in on the track.

We thank those of you who submitted photos for us to use as part of this retrospective, and express our sympathy to those affected by this powerful storm.