FAYETTE COUNTY, Ill. – Isolated strong to severe storms again popped up Wednesday afternoon across the Bi-State area.
The strongest storm was a supercell storm that first developed along the Mississippi River south of St. Louis in Jefferson County. This storm went on to intensify into an impressive swirling mass of clouds that produced large hail, frequent reports of wall clouds and some strong wind gusts as it tracked from Interstate 64 up to near Effingham by early evening.
We tracked the storm through the afternoon with the Woods Basement Systems StormRunner. Several times it came close to producing a tornado. Fortunately, almost every time it got close to producing a tornado, it would weaken and recycle.
That changed after the storm passed Carlyle Lake and moved into southern Fayette County.
That’s where the long-tracking storm finally produced a tornado that touched down several miles south of Vandalia near the town of Shobonier along Highway 51.
Fayette County Sheriff Ronnie Stevens confirms several buildings suffered significant damage with numerous trees toppled as well. Stevens reported there were no injuries from the storm.
The National Weather Service plans to survey damage Thursday.