EVANSVILLE – Survey crews from the National Weather Service believe 14 tornadoes hit the Tri-State in a five-hour span on Sunday.
The storms – which stretched from Jefferson County, Illinois to Grandview, Indiana – covered more than 100 miles, killing two people and injuring seven, NWS wrote in its initial reports early Tuesday morning.
The fatalities came just outside Mount Vernon, Illinois, where an EF-3 tornado tore through several mobile homes. Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Bullard identified the victims as Delores B. Shelton, 83, and 62-year-old Sarita L. Kimble.
The only other injuries occurred in Newburgh. Officials have said they were minor.
Here’s a breakdown of the reported tornadoes in chronological order. All information comes courtesy of NWS’ reports and previous Courier & Press reporting.
5:02-5:27 p.m., Jefferson and Wayne County, Illinois
The deadly EF-3 first touched the ground about two miles south of Dix, Illinois along Highway 37.
“It quickly intensified and led to complete destruction of several mobile homes leading to 2 fatalities along July Road and Ranch Lane,” NWS crews wrote.
At its peak it covered the width of four football fields and reached maximum wind speeds of 140 miles per hour. It stayed on the ground for about 13 miles, uprooting trees, breaking utility poles and destroying “a couple” sheds, NWS said.
5:47 to 5:51 p.m., Wayne County, Illinois
An EF-1 tornado touched down near the tiny village of Sims, Illinois, just along County Road 1100 East.
“It moved and then flipped a shipping container, shifted a shed off its foundation, destroyed a (12-by-16-foot) storage shed, and heavily damaged a barn,” NWS wrote. “Otherwise numerous trees were uprooted or snapped along (its) path.”
7:02 to 7:25 p.m., Gibson County, Indiana
This was the second-largest twister of the night, after the fatal EF-3 in Illinois. Hitting the ground near Indiana 65 in Cynthiana, the EF-2 fattened to 300 yards at its widest and stayed on the ground for more than 11 miles. As soon as it landed, it mowed through a line of nine transmission poles, breaking them all.
It eventually moved into Fort Branch, ripping the roof off a church. It damaged multiple homes, uprooted or sliced into several trees.
In a video posted to Facebook that night, Gibson County Sheriff Bruce Vanoven said the storm left “a lot of damage, some houses completely obliterated.”
7:11 to 7:21 p.m., Wayne County, Illinois
The EF-1 storm sent a tree toppling onto a house and lifted a carport into the sky. It snapped several large branches, marched through now-flattened cornfields and even uprooted a few trees.
7:37 to 7:38 p.m., Chandler, Indiana
A very brief EF-1 landed near Chandler along Tom Path Road. It damaged a building and tore some trees from the soil.
7:38 to 7:41 p.m., Mackey, Indiana
Down County Road 700 South, the EF-1 collapsed the roof of a mobile home and heavily damaged another building. There was also “extensive damage to corn in one of the fields,” NWS wrote.
7:39 to 7:46 p.m., Chandler, Indiana
Another EF-1, it hit the ground about a mile northwest of Chandler and left similar problems as the storm in Mackey: battered roofs, snapped trees and flattened corn. It stayed on the ground for about two-and-a-half miles.
7:47 to 7:50 p.m., Lynnville, Indiana
This EF-1 followed Spurgeon and Gore Roads just north of I-64, not far from the heart of Lynnville. Its heaviest work, according to NWS, involved some leaning utility poles and broken tree branches.
7:52 to 7:53 p.m., Lynnville, Indiana
One of the smaller tornadoes of the evening, the EF-0 still produced winds as strong as 80 miles per hour. It left behind some tree damage.
7:57 to 7:59 p.m., Selvin, Indiana
Another EF-0. Stayed on the ground about a mile and traveled along Indiana 68.
8:15 to 8:16 p.m., Dale, Indiana
Slightly larger than the two that came before it. NWS received drone footage of the EF-1 as it tore at the roofs of both turkey barns and nearby homes around a mile northwest of Dale. Its 95-mile-per-hour winds also uprooted trees.
8:53 to 8:54 p.m., White County, Illinois
NWS marked this one as “EF-U”: the “U” standing for “unknown.”
“Video and eyewitness reports of brief tornado touchdown approximately 4 miles northeast of Enfield but no damage was found,” the report states.
9:15 to 9:20 p.m., Newburgh Indiana
This was one of the more well-documented, and destructive, storms of the night.
Just after 9 p.m., an “imminent threat alert” blared across thousands of cell phones in Evansville. The NWS had apparently detected a circulating storm near Downtown. Still not on the ground, the mass hopped to the Lloyd Expressway and followed the road into Warrick County.
Just north of Deaconess Gateway, it descended. It soon carved a path not far from the main business drag of Newburgh along Indiana 66.
Its 100 mph winds slammed into Park Place Apartments in the 3800 block of Carmona Drive, partially caving in portions of the buildings and ripping at roofs. Two people suffered minor injuries, according to Warrick County Emergency Management Agency Director Matthew Goebel. Both declined medical treatment. NWS said the injuries came from flying debris.
From there the tornado headed toward a nearby strip mall. It defaced the front of the Flea Market Frenzy vendor mall and tossed the splintered remains into the parking lot.
Ace Hardware sits right next door. On Monday morning, it posted two bits of security footage to its Facebook page. One showed the white, whipping wisps of the storm running right through the parking lot. The other was a tight shot of the winds shattering the glass of the business’ front door.
Ruler Foods in the complex, meanwhile, saw some of its HVAC system torn from the roof, NWS wrote.
“We are thankful everyone is safe,” Ace Hardware posted to its Facebook page.
10:03 to 10:04 p.m., Grandview, Indiana
The last gasp of a long evening. Another EF-0, it skittered along Eighth Street and Indiana 66 for about half-a-mile. NWS reported shingle damage to a home and a few uprooted trees.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: 14 tornadoes hit the Tri-State Sunday. Here’s a breakdown of them all
Reporting by Jon Webb, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jon Webb, Evansville Courier & Press | USA TODAY Network
