December 10-11 Severe Weather Recap

Tornadoes

Virginia Tornado CASS COUNTY Date 12/10/2021 Time (Local) 7:47 - 7:59 pm CST EF Rating EF2 Est. Peak Winds 125 mph Path Length 12.8 miles Max Width 200 yards Injuries/Deaths 0 / 0 Summary: The tornado touched down at 7:47 pm, about 4 miles south-southwest of Virginia, moving northeast. The heaviest damage was at a farmstead on Parlier Road, about a half mile west of highway 78. Here, a house had significant damage to its roof, and several farm buildings were completely demolished. One horse was killed and another injured. The tornado crossed highway 78 about a half mile north of Prairie Creek. It damaged approximately 15 power poles on Conover Road, and overturned several storage tanks nearby. After crossing highway 125 about 2 miles southeast of Virginia, the remainder of the track mainly consisted of damage to trees. It crossed much of the Panther Creek Fish & Wildlife Area before lifting at 7:59 pm, about 2 miles west-northwest of Newmansville, just shy of the Menard County border. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Radar imagery of the storm. The blue area in the lower left shows debris, and was tracked through half the county A cross section of the debris south of Virginia shows it reaching around 10,000 feet in altitude South of Virginia (NWS photo) South of Virginia (NWS photo)

Atterberry Tornado MENARD COUNTY Date 12/10/2021 Time (Local) 8:07 - 8:16 pm CST EF Rating EF2 Est. Peak Winds 120 mph Path Length 4.6 miles Max Width 250 yards Injuries/Deaths 0 / 0 Summary: The storm that produced an EF2 tornado in Cass County resulted in another touchdown in Menard County. It began about a half mile east of Atterberry, where a pair of metal sheds along Pin Hook Ave were significantly damaged. It mainly passed through open fields until reaching a farm along Masters Ave about a half mile west of Fairgrounds St. Here, a machine shed was destroyed and a couple other outbuildings sustained damage. The worst damage was along Attig Bridge Ave about a half mile east of Fairgrounds St. A house sustained significant damage to its roof, several trees were snapped nearby, and sheds across the road were damaged or destroyed. From this point, it mainly traveled in farm fields, overturning an irrigation pivot before lifting just shy of the Sangamon River. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Radar display shortly after touchdown near Atterberry East of Atterberry (NWS photo) East of Atterberry (NWS photo) East of Atterberry (NWS photo)

Herrick Tornado *** SHELBY COUNTY *** Date 12/10/2021 Time (Local) 8:53 - 9:36 pm CST EF Rating EF2 Est. Peak Winds 118 mph Path Length 7.7 miles (Shelby Co.) 41.4 miles (total) Max Width 200 yards (Shelby Co.) 690 yards (total) Injuries/Deaths 1 / 0 Summary: ***This tornado developed outside the NWS Central Illinois (ILX) County Warning Area (CWA), in Bond County, crossing into Montgomery and Fayette County, both covered by NWS St. Louis (LSX). Information on that part of the track is available at this link.  The tornado entered Shelby County at 9:26 PM downing several large wood power poles 2 miles west of Herrick.  The most significant damage occurred to a residence 1 mile north of Herrick where an addition to a house saw significant damage, causing injury to one person.  The tornado continued northeast, damaging several outbuildings and downing trees and power lines.  The tornado lifted about 9:36 PM 2 miles northwest of Cowden. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File (Shelby County portion) Downloadable KMZ File (entire track)

Radar imagery showing an intense tornadic circulation (top right panel, red/dark blue intersection) near Herrick North of Herrick (NWS photo) North of Herrick (NWS photo) Northwest of Cowden (NWS photo)

Windsor / Gays / Mattoon Tornado SHELBY, MOULTRIE, COLES COUNTIES Date 12/10/2021 Time (Local) 9:50 - 10:06 pm CST EF Rating EF2 Est. Peak Winds 125 mph Path Length 15.8 miles Max Width 200 yards Injuries/Deaths 0 / 0 Summary: The tornado touched down at 9:50 PM about 1 mile south of Windsor, causing loss of roof panels to a farm outbuilding.  The tornado strengthened causing total destruction of a small farm outbuilding and breaking wood power poles southeast of Windsor.  An ag services plant saw significant damage west of Gays, with numerous buildings damaged or destroyed, and 3 large tanker trucks flipped.  Several houses and outbuildings were damaged in western Coles County, from west of Mattoon to northeast of Mattoon. The more significant damage included a roof completely removed from a one story brick house, and 2 large metal storage buildings that saw loss of roof and siding, and buckling of metal support structure.  The tornado lifted at 10:04 PM about 4 miles north-northeast of Mattoon. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Debris signature (blue area in lower left panel) seen near Gays Drone footage of damage near Gays. (Photo by Brad Emel) North of Mattoon (NWS photo) North of Charleston (NWS survey)

Oakland Tornado COLES COUNTY Date 12/10/2021 Time (Local) 10:18 - 10:22 pm CST EF Rating EF1 Est. Peak Winds 90 mph Path Length 5.8 miles Max Width 100 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: This tornado touched down 1/4 mile east of Rardin, and lifted 1 mile east of Oakland. The tornado did only tree damage with the greatest concentration of tree damage through the wooded areas along the Embarras River. Evidence that the tornado was on the ground was also found along East County Rd 1750 N. Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Small debris signature (blue are in lower left panel) near Rardin at 10:20 pm CST Damage to pine tree east of Rardin (Photo by Everett Lau) Damage to tree line east of Rardin (Photo by Everett Lau) Debris signature near of Oakland at 10:21 pm CST

Chrisman Tornado  EDGAR AND VERMILION COUNTIES Date 12/10/2021 Time (Local) 10:41 - 10:44 pm CST EF Rating EF2 Est. Peak Winds 115 mph Path Length 3.7 miles Max Width 200 yards Injuries/Deaths 0/0 Summary: This tornado touched down 3 miles north of Chrisman, and lifted just across the Vermilion County border, 2 miles east-southeast of Ridge Farm. The greatest damage was concentrated along county road 2650N just east of US-150. A farmstead at this location had several grain bins damaged, and a machine shed lost large portions of its roof.  Track Map Downloadable KMZ File

Debris signature (blue area in lower left panel) seen southeast of Ridgefarm after hitting machine shed. View from IND radar. Spring from machine shed embedded into tree several inches. (Photo by Mike Taylor) Portion of machine shed damage. (Photo by Mike Taylor) Silo damage near machine shed. (Photo by Mike Taylor)

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Meteorology

On Friday, December 10th 2021, a strong low pressure system tracked from Kansas towards the Great Lakes region, producing a significant severe weather event across the Midwest and into the mid-Mississippi Valley, as well as a winter storm from Colorado to Wisconsin. Below is a loop showing visible satellite, radar, watches and warnings from the afternoon of Friday, December 10th through the morning of Saturday, December 11th. 

As the system translated across the heartland of the US, gulf moisture was transported northward (dewpoint greater than 60 degrees F) and provided sufficient instability (convective available potential energy > 1000 J/kg) to support severe thunderstorms. This system had a very dynamic wind field, producing strong wind shear through all levels of the atmosphere. Deep layer shear values were in excess of 70 knots over the warm sector. Clockwise turning of the winds through the low levels of the atmosphere resulted in 0-1 km storm-relative helicity values in excess of 300 m2/s2. This set the stage for a significant severe weather event, with damaging winds and strong tornadoes the primary concerns.

On the morning of December 10th, the Storm Prediction Center issued a convective outlook which included a moderate risk (shown below). Much of central Illinois was included in an enhanced risk, which extended as far north as Bloomington and Champaign.

Storms developed by Friday evening, and approached the NWS Lincoln county warning area around 8 PM (01z). Storms moved across central and southern Illinois between 8 PM Friday and 1 AM Saturday (01-07z). A regional radar loop can be seen below:

This section will be updated.  

Storm Reports

These are preliminary reports received during the event across the NWS Lincoln county warning area. Additional updates or revisions are possible.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LINCOLN IL
1043 AM CST SAT DEC 11 2021

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0730 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     MEREDOSIA               39.83N 90.56W
12/10/2021                   MORGAN             IL   TRAINED SPOTTER



0730 PM     TSTM WND DMG     MEREDOSIA               39.83N 90.56W
12/10/2021                   MORGAN             IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SEVERAL LARGE TREE BRANCHES WERE BLOWN DOWN.
            ESTIMATED WIND GUSTS OF 65-75 MPH.

0750 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 NNW LITERBERRY        39.89N 90.22W
12/10/2021                   CASS               IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TREES AND POWER LINES WERE BLOWN DOWN.

0816 PM     TSTM WND DMG     4 NW GREEN VALLEY       40.44N 89.70W
12/10/2021                   TAZEWELL           IL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            SIDING WAS DAMAGED ON A HOUSE AND NUMEROUS
            POWER POLES WERE BLOWN DOWN ALONG WEIR ROAD
            BETWEEN JACOB AND WAGONSELLER ROAD.

0819 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 N GREEN VALLEY        40.44N 89.65W
12/10/2021                   TAZEWELL           IL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            A FARM IRRIGATION UNIT WAS FLIPPED INTO A
            DITCH ON GOEKEN ROAD JUST EAST OF RT 29.

0820 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 ESE MORTON            40.60N 89.44W
12/10/2021                   TAZEWELL           IL   PUBLIC

            LARGE TREE BRANCH DOWNED.

0825 PM     TSTM WND DMG     CHATHAM                 39.68N 89.70W
12/10/2021                   SANGAMON           IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

            POWER LINES WERE BLOWN DOWN NEAR RT 4 AND
            COTTONWOOD DRIVE SOUTH OF THE WALGREENS.

0825 PM     TSTM WND GST     2 NW TREMONT            40.54N 89.52W
12/10/2021  M85 MPH          TAZEWELL           IL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            MEASURED GUST AT THE TAZEWELL COUNTY EOC.

0833 PM     TSTM WND GST     CAPITAL AIRPORT         39.85N 89.68W
12/10/2021  M60 MPH          SANGAMON           IL   ASOS

            ASOS STATION KSPI SPRINGFIELD CAPITAL AP.

0836 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 NW BUFFALO            39.86N 89.42W
12/10/2021                   SANGAMON           IL   CO-OP OBSERVER

            SEVERAL POWER POLES BLOWN DOWN IN THE SAME
            DIRECTION. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR.

0838 PM     TSTM WND GST     GOODFIELD               40.63N 89.27W
12/10/2021  E65 MPH          WOODFORD           IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

            POWER OUTAGES HAVE OCCURRED.

0850 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 NNE LATHAM            40.00N 89.15W
12/10/2021                   LOGAN              IL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED ALONG 600 STREET
            JUST WEST OF 2400 AVENUE.

0944 PM     TSTM WND GST     3 NNE DALTON CITY       39.75N 88.78W
12/10/2021  M80 MPH          MACON              IL   PUBLIC

            MEASURED BY PERSONAL WEATHER STATION.
            ANEMOMETER WAS MOUNTED 10 FEET ABOVE GROUND.

0944 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 NNE DALTON CITY       39.75N 88.78W
12/10/2021                   MACON              IL   PUBLIC

            SEVERAL LARGE EVERGREEN TREES DAMAGED.

0950 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 ENE WINDSOR           39.44N 88.57W
12/10/2021                   SHELBY             IL   PUBLIC

            TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN AND POWER POLES WERE
            BENT ALONG RT 16 JUST NORTHEAST OF WINDSOR.

1000 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 WNW MATTOON           39.49N 88.42W
12/10/2021                   COLES              IL   TRAINED SPOTTER

            A SEMI WAS BLOWN OVER NEAR THE RURAL KING
            DISTRIBUTION CENTER.

1010 PM     TSTM WND DMG     OGDEN                   40.12N 87.95W
12/10/2021                   CHAMPAIGN          IL   PUBLIC

            MACHINE SHED DESTROYED.

1016 PM     TSTM WND GST     SIDNEY                  40.03N 88.07W
12/10/2021  E65 MPH          CHAMPAIGN          IL   EMERGENCY MNGR



1022 PM     TSTM WND GST     LAWRENCEVILLE AIRPORT   38.77N 87.60W
12/10/2021  M59 MPH          LAWRENCE           IL   ASOS

            ASOS STATION KLWV LAWRENCEVILLE AP.

1051 PM     TSTM WND GST     COLES COUNTY AIRPORT    39.47N 88.27W
12/10/2021  M59 MPH          COLES              IL   ASOS

            ASOS STATION KMTO COLES COUNTY MEM AP.

1106 PM     TSTM WND DMG     BEECHER CITY            39.19N 88.78W
12/10/2021                   EFFINGHAM          IL   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            POWER LINES WERE BLOWN DOWN.

1131 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 WNW TREMONT           40.54N 89.52W
12/10/2021                   TAZEWELL           IL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            THE DOME WAS BLOWN OFF THE SALT STORAGE
            BUILDING AT THE TAZEWELL COUNTY HIGHWAY
            DEPARTMENT.

1135 PM     TSTM WND GST     EDGAR COUNTY AIRPORT    39.70N 87.67W
12/10/2021  M62 MPH          EDGAR              IL   AWOS

            AWOS STATION KPRG EDGAR COUNTY AP.

0103 AM     TSTM WND GST     LAWRENCEVILLE AIRPORT   38.77N 87.60W
12/11/2021  M51 MPH          LAWRENCE           IL   ASOS

            ASOS STATION KLWV LAWRENCEVILLE AP.

0600 AM     HEAVY RAIN       4 SW BEASON             40.10N 89.25W
12/11/2021  M1.27 INCH       LOGAN              IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0600 AM     HEAVY RAIN       4 NW DANVILLE           40.18N 87.68W
12/11/2021  M1.09 INCH       VERMILION          IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0600 AM     HEAVY RAIN       4 ESE BLOOMINGTON       40.46N 88.92W
12/11/2021  M1.02 INCH       MCLEAN             IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0645 AM     HEAVY RAIN       1 SW HENRY              41.10N 89.37W
12/11/2021  M1.15 INCH       MARSHALL           IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0700 AM     HEAVY RAIN       1 SSW MORTON            40.60N 89.47W
12/11/2021  M1.05 INCH       TAZEWELL           IL   CO-OP OBSERVER

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0700 AM     HEAVY RAIN       DOWNS                   40.40N 88.87W
12/11/2021  M1.38 INCH       MCLEAN             IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0700 AM     HEAVY RAIN       4 NW MODE               39.31N 88.79W
12/11/2021  M1.30 INCH       SHELBY             IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0700 AM     HEAVY RAIN       5 NNW EL PASO           40.81N 89.05W
12/11/2021  M1.28 INCH       WOODFORD           IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0700 AM     HEAVY RAIN       3 ENE URBANA            40.13N 88.15W
12/11/2021  M1.24 INCH       CHAMPAIGN          IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0730 AM     HEAVY RAIN       CHENOA                  40.74N 88.72W
12/11/2021  M1.08 INCH       MCLEAN             IL   CO-OP OBSERVER

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0800 AM     HEAVY RAIN       1 NNE SAVOY             40.08N 88.24W
12/11/2021  M1.16 INCH       CHAMPAIGN          IL   CO-OP OBSERVER

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0800 AM     HEAVY RAIN       1 E HEYWORTH            40.31N 88.96W
12/11/2021  M1.49 INCH       MCLEAN             IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0800 AM     HEAVY RAIN       1 N SAVOY               40.09N 88.25W
12/11/2021  M1.22 INCH       CHAMPAIGN          IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0800 AM     HEAVY RAIN       2 NNE ARROWSMITH        40.48N 88.62W
12/11/2021  M1.19 INCH       MCLEAN             IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0800 AM     HEAVY RAIN       1 S OREANA              39.92N 88.87W
12/11/2021  M1.00 INCH       MACON              IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.

0830 AM     HEAVY RAIN       EUREKA                  40.72N 89.27W
12/11/2021  M1.39 INCH       WOODFORD           IL   MESONET

            24 HOUR TOTAL; SWOP REPORT.

0900 AM     HEAVY RAIN       1 WSW URBANA            40.10N 88.22W
12/11/2021  M1.20 INCH       CHAMPAIGN          IL   COCORAHS

            24 HOUR TOTAL.