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Weather Service team confirms EF-2 tornado hit SE Illinois

MOUNT CARMEL, Ill. (AP) - A tornado that produced winds of up to 115 mph (185 kilometers per hour) swept through two southeastern Illinois communities on Thursday, causing damage but no injuries before dissipating in Indiana, the National Weather Service has confirmed.

Weather service staffers who surveyed storm damage Friday determined that an EF-2 tornado with a 26-mile-long (42-kilometer-long) path touched down Thursday night in the Wabash County town of Keensburg before sweeping across the south side of Mount Carmel, the county seat.

Keensburg residents Michael and Stacey Whipkey took shelter in an interior bathroom after they heard the wind picking up minutes after tornado sirens began wailing in the community of less than 300 residents.

'œI heard it coming, it was like it was right there. It lasted maybe 10 or 15 seconds, and then it was over," Stacey Whipkey told the Evansville Courier & Press.

Falling trees destroyed at least two mobile homes in Keensburg and damaged cars, property and other homes in the community.

The tornado then moved across Mount Carmel's south side, leaving behind overturned trailers and sheds, downed trees and power lines, and several damaged homes in the city of more than 7,000 residents, police Chief Mike McWilliams said Friday.

The tornado then moved into southwestern Indiana, where it repeatedly crossed the meandering path of the White River near the Gibson County/Knox County line before dissipating.

In the Knox County town of Decker, Pat Doades said she hunkered in a hallway in her home as the tornado swept nearby, leaving downed trees, power lines and debris near her residence.

'œI could hear everything hitting outside. Rain and bark from the trees came in through a bathroom window I had open, spread nearly all across the house. 'œI just prayed,'ť she told the Vincennes Sun-Commercial.

The storm's 26-mile path was nothing out of the ordinary for an EF-2 tornado in the region of southern Illinois, western Kentucky and southwestern Indiana that the weather service's Paducah office covers, said Christine Wielgos, a meteorologist in that office.

'œThat's a pretty strong tornado, an EF-2," she said Saturday. 'œUsually the stronger tornadoes can last a lot longer so their paths can be substantially longer than for weaker tornadoes."

Far longer tornado paths are possible, including a December 2021 tornado that Wielgos called 'œan anomaly" which left a nearly 166-mile-long (270-kilometer-long) path of destruction in western Kentucky and was rated an EF-4, the weather service found.

That was part of a deadly tornado outbreak that produced a twister that caused an Amazon facility in Edwardsville, Illinois, to collapse, killing six people.

The trailer at the Schrader-Batesville river camp is seen flipped on its side Friday, May 20, 2022, after heavy storm winds came through Mount Carmel, Ill., the night before. (Macabe Brown/Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press
Joe and Andrea Delong walk McDowell Street surveying storm damage to their neighborhood, early Friday, May 20, 2022, after heavy storm winds came through Mount Carmel, Ill., the night before. (Macabe Brown/Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press
Mount Carmel public utility attempts to restore power off Hydraulic Avenue, early Friday, May 20, 2022, after heavy storm winds came through Mount Carmel, Ill., the night before. (Macabe Brown/Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press
Joan Perry is checked on by her cousins John and Ginger Bratton, early Friday, May 20, 2022, after heavy storm winds came through Mount Carmel, Ill., the night before. (Macabe Brown/Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press
An uprooted tree lies on a trailer home in the Village of Keensburg, Ill., Friday, May 20, 2022. Heavy storm winds came through the area Thursday night causing significant damage. (Macabe Brown/Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press
A home is seen damaged, Friday, May 20, 2022, from a tree falling after heavy storm winds came through Mount Carmel, Ill., the night before. (Macabe Brown/Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press
A tree ripped through a trailer home Friday, May 20, 2022, after heavy storm winds came through Mount Carmel, Ill., the night before. (Macabe Brown/Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press
Joan Perry's truck appears to be safe although their carport took damage, Friday, May 20, 2022, after heavy storm winds came through Mount Carmel, Ill., the night before. (Macabe Brown/Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press
Bill Bates trims a down tree at his river camp early Friday, May 20, 2022, after heavy storm winds came through Mount Carmel, Ill., the night before. (Macabe Brown/Evansville Courier & Press via AP) The Associated Press
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