4 Tornadoes Hit Champaign County, Illinois; Strongest Rated an EF-2

CHAMPAIGN, IL — Four confirmed tornadoes touched down in Central Illinois Friday night, sweeping through Champaign County around 7 p.m., leveling at least one farm, and damaging buildings in small towns within the county.

The most powerful of the tornadoes was rated an EF-2 by the National Weather Service, reaching a peak wind speed of 125 miles per hour and leaving a 4.7 mile path of damage.

Significant damage is reported in the small towns of Homer — in between the city of Champaign and Danville — and Sidney south of Danville. A 116-year-old farmhouse was destroyed, and headstones in a cemetery were knocked over. The tornado threat bypassed the University of Illinois.

The National Weather Service in Lincoln, Illinois, confirmed these four tornadoes; as of Saturday at 6 p.m., only two had been rated:

• 3 miles south of Sidney to 1 mile southeast of Homer in Champaign County, on ground for 17 minutes (6:33 to 6:50 p.m.), rated an EF-2
• 2 miles southwest of Bismarck in Vermilion County, 6:39 p.m.
• 2 miles south of Casey, a brief touchdown in Clark County, 6:46 p.m., rated an EF-0
• 2 miles northwest of Catlin in Vermilion County, 7:22 p.m.

"Initially it was quite small, a small little cone tornado," Jeff Frame, a local meteorologist and instructor at the University of Illinois, told WDWS for a podcast report.

But the tornado grew bigger.

"We were about a mile away from a farmhouse, and we saw the tornado impact the structure, a significant amount of debris was lofted into the air," Frame said. "The house had been partially collapsed and moved off the foundation."

First responders were on the scene within minutes, Frame said, and a gas leak was detected.

Trees were knocked down north of Danville along U.S. 136 and two houses were destroyed south of Homer, according to the Champaign County Sheriff's Department. No injuries have been reported. A corn crib (a type of granary building used to store and dry corn) and crops have also been severely damaged.

In Sidney, a recreational vehicle was torn apart, as was the house where the RV was parked, according to the local fire department. Four adults and two children were in the basement when the twister ripped the roof off their house. No one was hurt.

"The woman's parents had just got here (in the RV)," fire department spokesman Mike Dilley told the Champaign News-Gazette. "(The tornad0) just strewed parts everywhere."

The National Weather Service in Lincoln will perform damage assessments in Champaign and Vermilion counties on Saturday morning. The severity of the tornadoes will be determined by the NWS after assessing the damage and the track of the twisters.