Tornado in Fulton County, Illinois

A tornado touched down 1 NE of Ipava and traveled to the northeast for seven miles, lifting and dissipating 2 NE of Lewistown. The tops of some high power line structures were broken off and 12 homes were destroyed. Numerous livestock were killed. Numerous cars and farm equipment were either damaged or destroyed. One car was thrown over a 100 yards into a farm field. Forty-five people sustained minor injuries, mainly from flying debris. Damage was estimated around $6 million.

A tornado touched down on the west side of Farmington and travelled to the east southeast. It first severely damaged a lumberyard, ripping off the roof of a large storage facility. Then as it moved into the downtown area, several buildings sustained damage to the back walls, as well as, roof damage. Also, several projectiles were found in this area (2x4s driven into the ground). A block down the road a house lost its roof and then as the tornado moved into the east side of town, the second story of a brick building was demolished. Across the street at the high school, a large garage was destroyed which damaged several vehicles. Also, the gymnasium sustained significant roof and water damage and the new press box and bleachers at the football stadium were destroyed. Damage at the high school was estimated around $400,000. As the tornado lifted on the east side of town, it blew down or damaged numerous trees. No deaths or injuries were reported.

This tornado crossed from Schuyler County into far southern Fulton County about 6.9 miles southeast of Astoria at 3:55 PM CST. The tornado progressed northeastward doing extensive tree damage as it nearly paralleled Highway 100. Additional tree damage and minor roof damage occurred near the intersection of Highway 100 and US-136. The tornado then tracked nearly due northward through rural areas doing tree damage before hitting some homes along North Waterford Road, producing mainly roof and siding damage, along with snapping and uprooting many trees. The hardest hit areas from this tornado were along East County Highway 9 southeast of Lewistown, where more extensive home damage occurred, along with very large trees getting snapped or uprooted. A winery suffered extensive damage to several buildings and numerous trees and power lines were downed. The tornado dissipated in a field east of East Township Line Road and County Highway 9 about 2.3 miles southeast of Lewistown at 4:18 PM CST.