MARION — The National Weather Service has rated the tornado that tore a path of destruction through Williamson and Saline counties Tuesday night was an EF2 with peak wind speeds of 125 mph. Two other EF1 tornadoes also struck Williamson County on Tuesday.
The EF2 tornado cut a 12.5-mile path through parts of Williamson and Saline counties, touching down at 5:47 p.m. 7.5 miles southwest of Galatia and lifting at 6:07 p.m. 1.5 miles northeast of Raleigh. Its width was 350 yards.
The National Weather Service’s preliminary report says the tornado destroyed three homes and damaged more than a dozen others. Dozens of barns and other structures were destroyed or heavily damaged. Hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted, the report says.
The first EF1 tornado had peak wind speeds of 105 mph and followed a 10.5-mile path through Williamson County, touching down at 5:17 p.m. in Carterville and lifting at 5:33 p.m. 1.25 miles east of Whiteash. Its path was 125 yards wide.
The Weather Service says at least one to two dozen homes received roof and siding damage. One business in Energy sustained major damage, with considerable loss of roof structure and blown out windows, while another nearby business also had roof and window damage. Barns, sheds and outbuildings were also damaged, and hundreds of trees were snapped, uprooted or had broken limbs. Several power poles were snapped.
Another EF1 hit Williamson County on Tuesday, cutting a 2-mile path through Pittsburg. Peak wind speeds were 95 mph. At least a half a dozen homes lost shingles, and one home’s windows were blown out. Dozens of trees were broken.
The EF0 that hit Massac County reached peak wind speeds of 85 mph. It touched down one mile northwest of Metropolis and lifted six miles northeast of Metropolis. Numerous buildings had shingle damage, and several large tree limbs were down.
by The Southern
Apr 5, 2018 Updated Apr 6, 2018
