Fayette County

Fayette County, IL

Data available through 9/30/2011

Date

Time (CST)

F/EF-Scale

Length (Miles)

Maximum Width (Yards)

Killed

Injured

Property Damage

Source*

4/12/1893

1:30 AM

F2

5

 200

0

n/a

n/a

G

Homes were unroofed and twisted, and barns were destroyed near Vandalia.

7/21/1954

6:45 PM

F2

26

200

0

1

n/a

NCDC

4/5/1958

2:20 PM

F3

61

100

1

8

n/a

NCDC,G

Tornado formed over St. Clair County and moved ENE through Clinton, Bond and Fayette Counties.  The tornado caused most of it's damage and was at it's maximum intensity over St. Clair county.

10/10/1959

5:15 PM

F2

49

33

0

0

n/a

NCDC

6/4/1960

12:18 PM

n/a

n/a

n/a

0

0

n/a

NCDC

Tornado reported by pilot.

8/18/1974

1:54 PM

F1

n/a

n/a

0

0

n/a

NCDC

5/1/1983

3:25 PM

F1

0.3

33

0

0

>$50,000

NCDC

As a small tornado touched down, it damaged a church.  A car, a mobile home, a church, and several homes were destroyed or badly damaged.

11/9/1984

4:45 PM

F3

30

150

0

11

n/a

NCDC, G

Moved ENE out of Bond County and passed 3 miles S of Vandalia before striking Brownstown.  More than 175 homes were damaged.  Multiple vortices were seen.  The heaviest damage occurred in Brownstown, where 25 homes were destroyed and 144 were damaged.

4/15/1994

5:22 AM

F1

3

60

0

0

$500,000

NCDC

A small tornado formed just west of Loogootee and moved east through the southern part of town. The roofs of two relatively new mobile homes were completely uplifted and tossed several hundred yards downwind. A resident stated that several 6 x 6's anchored in cement were snapped off or pulled up. The nearby homes also experienced minor roof damage and broken windows. A large 20-foot grain bin was tossed several hundred yards downwind. Before the tornado lifted, several farm houses and barns east of town were heavily damaged.

4/19/1996

7:20 PM

F1

2

80

0

0

$50,000

NCDC

A small tornado traveled through parts of Fayette and Marion counties, creating an 11 mile damage path ranging from 50 to 80 yards in width. The tornado reached F1 intensity 3 times along the path. One home and barn were destroyed in extreme southeast Fayette County in the early stages of the tornado, a barn and several sheds were destroyed just north of Patoka in Marion County, and another barn and sheds were destroyed when the tornado crossed into Fayette County again southeast of Shobonier.

4/19/1996

7:30 PM

F1

3

80

0

0

$75,000

NCDC

A small tornado traveled through parts of Fayette and Marion counties, creating an 11 mile damage path ranging from 50 to 80 yards in width. The tornado reached F1 intensity 3 times along the path. One home and barn were destroyed in extreme southeast Fayette County in the early stages of the tornado, a barn and several sheds were destroyed just north of Patoka in Marion County, and another barn and sheds were destroyed when the tornado crossed into Fayette County again southeast of Shobonier.

6/29/1998

6:20 PM

F1

0

70

0

0

$80,000

NCDC

A small tornado caused damage at a farm northeast of Farina. The roof was ripped off a large machine shed, a grain bin destroyed, trees uprooted and large limbs broken off others. A house suffered minor damage to the siding and a broken window.

6/1/1999

7:03 PM

F2

10

150

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A tornado produced a 10 mile intermittent damage path across Fayette County in the St. Elmo area. The tornado first formed southeast of Brownstown damaging 2 large machine sheds. The tornado crossed Route 170 knocking over a tractor-trailer. About 2 miles southwest of St. Elmo it destroyed several green houses. About 1 mile southwest of St. Elmo a large warehouse was destroyed. Several large steel beams supporting the warehouse were severely twisted. Also in this area, a 300 foot radio tower was destroyed, a mobile home and 3 homes were destroyed. The tornado weakened as it moved northeast of St. Elmo damaging a few outbuildings and downing trees.

5/12/2000

6:20 PM

F0

2

40

0

0

$15,000

NCDC

A small tornado formed in Fayette County south of Vandalia. One mobile home was destroyed, a boat dock at a pond destroyed and several trees downed. Power lines were also downed.

6/11/2002

4:00 PM

F0

3

50

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A small tornado hit northwest of Vandalia. A couple of machine sheds were damaged and one two-story home suffered roof damage. Several trees were downed along the path as well. 

6/11/2002

4:05 PM

F0

1

40

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A small tornado formed just east of Vandalia. Several power poles and trees were downed by the tornado. There were no structures in the path. 

5/30/2004

4:10 PM

F0

0

40

0

0

n/a

NCDC

An off duty NWS employee reported a brief tornado on the east side of Carlyle Lake. 

6/27/2008

2:58 PM

EF0

1

40

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A tornado touched down about one and a half miles west southwest of Shafter. It travelled to the east northeast before lifting and dissipating just west of Shafter. It blew down 2 power poles, several large tree limbs and damaged some corn along its path.

2/28/2011

12:27 AM

EF2

1

90

0

0

n/a

NCDC

A quasi-stationary frontal boundary was the main focusing mechanism for a round of significant severe weather over the forecast area. A strong shortwave moved along the boundary triggering widespread showers and thunderstorms. Numerous reports of large hail, damaging winds and 22 tornadoes occurred with this system.   A tornado touched down in Confidence, Illinois approximately 8 miles southwest of St. Elmo or 9.5 miles east-southeast of Vandalia. The tornado touched down near the intersection of County Road 1750E and County Road 1275N. In this location it damaged a residence, trees, and outbuildings. A convergent pattern was found in the debris. The tornado then continued east northeast and damaged several residences and farm buildings along County Road 1275N. One residence was shifted 22 feet off the foundation and another was shifted 6 feet off the foundation. Lumber from the roof was driven into the siding and into the foundation at a third residence. The tornado then skipped through a wooded area north of County Road 1275N before lifting west of Illinois Route 185. The maximum damage was rated EF2 with a maximum wind speed around 120 mph. The total length of this tornado was approximately 1.3 miles with a maximum width of 90 yards.   A quasi-stationary frontal boundary was the main focusing mechanism for a round of significant severe weather over the forecast area. A strong shortwave moved along the boundary triggering widespread showers and thunderstorms. Numerous reports of large hail, damaging winds and 22 tornadoes occurred with this system.

2/28/2011

12:32 AM

EF1

0.2

10

0

0

NCDC

A quasi-stationary frontal boundary was the main focusing mechanism for a round of significant severe weather over the forecast area. A strong shortwave moved along the boundary triggering widespread showers and thunderstorms. Numerous reports of large hail, damaging winds and 22 tornadoes occurred with this system.   A tornado briefly touched down approximately 1 mile southeast of St. Elmo at a farm building located a tenth of a mile south of Interstate 70 and two tenths of a mile north of County Road 1900N along County Road 2250E. The south facing wall of a large metal farm storage building was blown out with debris scattered over one half mile into an adjacent field. Several 2x4s were driven several feet into the ground. A billboard just south of the farm building supported by 16 wooden posts, each 5 to 10 inches in diameter. All of these posts were snapped but there was no damage to the power poles directly across the road. Since the billboard was found on the road directly in front of the posts rather than farther downstream, it appears that straight line winds caused damage to the billboard while the tornado was responsible for damage to the farm building. The maximum damage was rated EF1 with a maximum wind speed around 95 mph. The total length of this tornado was approximately two tenths of a mile with a maximum width of 10 yards. A quasi-stationary frontal boundary was the main focusing mechanism for a round of significant severe weather over the forecast area. A strong shortwave moved along the boundary triggering widespread showers and thunderstorms. Numerous reports of large hail, damaging winds and 22 tornadoes occurred with this system.

2/28/2011

12:33 AM

EF2

0.1

50

0

0

n/a

NCDC

 A quasi-stationary frontal boundary was the main focusing mechanism for a round of significant severe weather over the forecast area. A strong shortwave moved along the boundary triggering widespread showers and thunderstorms. Numerous reports of large hail, damaging winds and 22 tornadoes occurred with this system.   A tornado briefly touched down near the Fayette and Effingham county line approximately two tenths of a mile south of County Road 1800N. Two large farm buildings were destroyed and debris was thrown 1 mile to the east into Effingham County. Other farm buildings also sustained damage. There were four spots on the property with evidence that heavy debris, including a cinderblock, was thrown a substantial distance to the northwest. Several 2x4s were driven several feet into the ground. The tornado did not go into Effingham county. The maximum damage was rated EF2 with a maximum wind speed around 115 mph. The total length of this tornado was a tenth of a mile with a maximum width of 50 yards.   A quasi-stationary frontal boundary was the main focusing mechanism for a round of significant severe weather over the forecast area. A strong shortwave moved along the boundary triggering widespread showers and thunderstorms. Numerous reports of large hail, damaging winds and 22 tornadoes occurred with this system.

*Sources

G - Grazulis, T. P., 1993: Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991.  A Chronology and Analysis of Events. Environmental Films, Tornado Project, St. Johsnbury, VT.

NCDC - National Climatic Data Center U.S. Local Storms Events Data (www.ncdc.noaa.gov)