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One large tornadic supercell thunderstorm first moved into central
Illinois on the evening of March 12, producing a number of
tornadoes. The first tornado, the one that hit the Springfield
area, first moved into central Illinois from Greene County, near the
town of Barrow, crossing into Scott County about three miles
southwest of Manchester at 7:29 p.m. The tornado continued on the
ground to the northeast, moving through Manchester at 7:33 p.m. and
then crossing into Morgan County about two miles northeast of
Manchester at 7:36 p.m. The storm continued northeast along Route
267, moving through Murrayville at 7:42 p.m. It continued northeast,
crossing Route 104 about 1.5 miles north of Franklin. It then
crossed the Sangamon County line 4.5 miles southwest of New Berlin
at 8:02 p.m. In this portion of the damage path, the tornado varied
from one-eighth to one-fourth of a mile in width. Damage observed
was of F1 intensity on the Fujita scale, with estimated wind speeds
of around 100 mph.
The tornado continued northeast over Sangamon County along the
Northfolk and Southern Railroad tracks to about two miles north of
Loami, then to three-fourths mile south of Curran and then to mile
marker 92 on Interstate 72 at 8:30 p.m. before moving into the city
of Springfield. In Sangamon County the tornado gradually widened to
between one-half and three-quarters of a mile in width. The storm
was of F1 intensity, with estimated wind speeds of around 100 mph,
strengthening to F2 intensity, around 120 mph, as it passed north of
Loami, remaining that strength as it moved into the city of
Springfield.
Damage from the storm over Scott, Morgan and rural Sangamon
County consisted of the snapping of power poles and major tree
damage -- either ripped up or uprooted. Numerous farm buildings,
both Morton-type buildings and barns, were damaged or destroyed, as
were numerous grain bins. One mobile home was destroyed.
In Springfield, the tornado continued into town with maximum
intensity of F2. For specific details on the damage in Springfield,
see the Lincoln National Weather Service office Web postings:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ilx/?n=mar12tor.
The path length of this tornado was 44 miles in length, from
Scott County to Springfield. The storm was on the ground southwest
of Scott County, and statements from the St. Louis office will
provide additional details on that portion of the damage path. [Details]
A second tornado formed in the city of Springfield, east of the
termination of the first one. Its path length was four miles. [Details]
A third tornado was produced from the supercell as it moved over
Morgan and rural Sangamon counties earlier. This smaller tornado
touched down just northeast of Franklin at 7:58 p.m., crossing the
county line at four miles northeast of Franklin at 8 p.m. It
continued northeast, lifting two miles north-northeast of Loami at
8:11 p.m. This storm was slightly weaker in intensity than the
larger one located farther north; it was F1 intensity, with around
100 mph winds and 100-200 yards wide. The path length was 11.5
miles. Damage with this tornado consisted of power poles snapped,
farm buildings damaged and tree damage. [Details]
A fourth tornado was produced east of Springfield, 3.75 miles
south of Riverton, at 8:32 p.m. It moved northeast between Dawson
and Buffalo -- 1.5 miles west of Buffalo -- and lifted just south of
the Logan County line five miles northeast of Buffalo at 8:55 p.m.
This tornado started as an F0 tornado about 100 yards wide and
quickly strengthened to F2 intensity, with estimated wind speeds of
120 mph and a maximum width of 200 yards. It weakened to F1
intensity and was about 100 yards wide when it ended. Total path was
12.5 miles in length. Damage from this storm consisted of damage to
barn buildings and some significant house damage. Power poles were
again snapped, along with major tree damage. [Details]
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 This tornado then touched down again in Logan County, two miles
southeast of Lake Fork, at 8:57 p.m. and was on the ground for
another 2.5 miles before lifting 2.5 miles southwest of Mount
Pulaski at 8:59 p.m. The damage path was wider, about one-half mile
wide, and again of F2 intensity, about 120 mph. Damage in this
touchdown was similar to the rural damage seen earlier, with
numerous power poles snapped. In addition, a 400-foot microwave
radio tower was toppled.
A fifth tornado, east of the previous storm in Logan County, was
found in the survey. The tornado tracked from 6.25 miles south of
Mount Pulaski at the Logan County line to three miles south of Mount
Pulaski from 9 to 9:02 p.m. This one was again rated as F2
intensity, with wind speeds of 120 mph and a width of 200 yards.
Path length was 3.5 miles. Damage from this tornado was again
similar to the rural damage seen earlier, with numerous power poles
snapped off. In addition, three or four large steel power towers
were toppled. [Details]
In addition to the tornado damage, strong straight-line damaging
winds were produced in a number of areas on March 12. Wind damage
was found in southeast Logan County, southeast of Mount Pulaski and
west of Latham. Wind damage was also found by Macon County ESDA
personnel in extreme northwest Macon County, about five to seven
miles west of Maroa. Damage in these areas consisted of minor damage
to homes, damage to farm buildings and power poles.
Another area of wind damage was found from one mile southeast to
two miles east of Cornland in southeast Logan County. Damage to farm
buildings and trees occurred around 8:51 p.m.
Finally, in southeast McLean County, wind damage occurred in the
town of Saybrook. Survey results suggest that a small microburst hit
the town, damaging a Morton-type barn west of town and damaging
numerous trees in town. One older building was blown down in town.
Damage was about five blocks wide, with estimated wind speeds of
around 70 mph. The damage was produced by a line of thunderstorms
that moved through the area around 3:38 a.m. on March 13.
About four miles northeast of Saybrook, another Morton-type barn
was totally destroyed by straight-line damaging winds. This damage
was caused by the evening tornadic storm that hit the Springfield
area and occurred at 9:23 p.m.
For additional details and later updates and photos on this
event, see the Lincoln National Weather Service postings on the Web:
www.crh.noaa.gov/ilx.
Fujita scale
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F0 -- 40 to 72 mph
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F1 -- 73 to 112 mph
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F2 -- 113 to 157 mph
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F3 -- 158 to 206 mph
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F4 -- 207 to 260 mph
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F5 -- 261 to 318 mph
Damage survey team members: Ernest Goetsch, meteorologist in
charge; Kirk Huettl, meteorologist; Mike Hardiman, meteorologist;
Chuck Schaffer, meteorologist
[News release from the
National Weather Service
office in Lincoln]
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