Tornado Confirmed in Iroquois County
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS COMPLETED A STORM DAMAGE
SURVEY NEAR WATSEKA ILLINOIS IN IROQUOIS COUNTY ON THE AFTERNOON
OF AUGUST 20 2009. THIS SURVEY DETERMINED THAT A TORNADO...RATED
EF 1 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE...OCCURRED ON THE EVENING OF
AUGUST 19 2009...AND WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGE APPROXIMATELY
THREE MILES TO THE NORTH-NORTHEAST OF WATSEKA. THE TORNADO HAD A
PATH LENGTH OF 2.75 MILES...AND A MAXIMUM WIDTH OF 50 YARDS. THE
PEAK WIND SPEED ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TORNADO IS ESTIMATED TO BE
105 MPH. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED WITH THIS TORNADO.
THE TORNADO FIRST TOUCHED DOWN AT 600 PM CDT ALONG COUNTY ROAD
2100 EAST...JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE INTERSECTION OF COUNTY ROADS
2100 NORTH AND 2100 EAST. THE INITIAL TOUCHDOWN WAS IN A CORN
FIELD...WHERE CORN WAS LAID DOWN IN A CONVERGENT PATTERN. AT THIS
LOCATION...THE TORNADO WAS APPROXIMATELY 20 YARDS WIDE.
THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED COUNTY ROAD 2100 NORTH...WHERE IT CAUSED
DAMAGE TO TREES AND A SMALL CORN SILO NEXT TO A FARM HOUSE. JUST
BEHIND THIS FARM HOUSE...SEVERAL LARGE TREES WERE BROKEN NEAR THE
BASE...WITH ONE UPROOTED. MOST OF THESE TREES WERE AROUND 3 FEET
IN DIAMETER. SOME INTERNAL ROT WAS NOTED IN A FEW OF THE
TREES...MAKING THEM MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO WIND DAMAGE.
THE TORNADO THEN APPEARS TO HAVE LIFTED BRIEFLY BEFORE TOUCHING
DOWN AGAIN JUST BEHIND A HOME ALONG COUNTY ROAD 2200
EAST...BETWEEN COUNTY ROADS 2100 NORTH AND 2150 NORTH. AT THIS
LOCATION...SIGNIFICANT TREE DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED...WITH MULTIPLE
LIMBS BETWEEN 1 AND 2 FEET IN DIAMETER BEING BROKEN AND FALLING IN
A CONVERGENT MANNER. ALSO AT THIS LOCATION...A DETACHED GARAGE WAS
DESTROYED...WITH THE DEBRIS BEING SCATTERED 50 TO 100 FEET TO THE
NORTHEAST. THIS APPEARS TO BE THE POINT ALONG THE DAMAGE PATH
WHERE THE STORM REACHED ITS MAXIMUM INTENSITY AND WIDTH...WITH AN
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND SPEED OF 105 MPH AND WIDTH OF 50 YARDS.
THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED COUNTY ROAD 2100 EAST...CAUSING DAMAGE TO
CORN ALONG BOTH COUNTY ROAD 2100 EAST AND COUNTY ROAD 2150 NORTH.
AFTER CROSSING COUNTY ROAD 2150 NORTH...THE TORNADO DESTROYED A
BARN HOUSING FARMING EQUIPMENT...MEASURING 44 X 72 FEET. DEBRIS
FROM THIS BARN WAS SCATTERED IN ALL DIRECTIONS FROM THE BARNS
ORIGINAL LOCATION. SEVERAL PIECES OF FARM EQUIPMENT...ESTIMATED TO
WEIGH BETWEEN 5000 AND 15000 POUNDS...WERE MOVED SEVERAL FEET
NORTH AND NORTHEAST FROM THEIR ORIGINAL LOCATION...INCLUDING A
GRAIN WAGON LIFTED AND PLACED ON TOP OF OTHER FARM EQUIPMENT. AFTER
DESTROYING THE BARN...
THE TORNADO MOVED NORTHEAST THROUGH A CORN
FIELD...WHERE ADDITIONAL CROP DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED. THE TORNADO THEN
AGAIN BRIEFLY LIFTED BEFORE STRIKING A HOME AND A DETACHED GARAGE
ALONG COUNTY ROAD 2340 EAST. SIDING AND MINOR ROOF AND SHINGLE
DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED ON THE HOUSE...AND THE DETACHED GARAGE LOST
ITS ROOF AND SUFFERED A COLLAPSE OF THE SOUTH WALL. AT THIS
LOCATION...THE TORNADO WAS ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT 40 YARDS WIDE.
THE TORNADO APPEARS TO HAVE LIFTED AT APPROXIMATELY 607 PM AS IT
CROSSED COUNTY ROAD 2340 EAST.
BOXELL/GREEN/ROHRBACH/VINCENTE
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