NWS: Neoga tornado had 120 mph winds, was 300 yards wide

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - The National Weather Service has completed initial storm damage survey results after severe weather Friday and Saturday spawned six tornadoes in central Illinois.

A EF-2 tornado in Coles and Cumberland County was on the ground for 11 miles and was nearly 300 yards wide. It touched down near Neoga causing extensive damage to school buildings. The tornado paralleled I-57 before lifting up near Kickapoo Creek southeast of Mattoon. It was on the ground for approximately 15 minutes.

The Neoga tornado had estimated top winds of 120 miles per hour. NWS officials said in addition to damage at the schools, the tornado damaged a home, barn, several power poles, and an outbuilding. The NWS said 7 grain bins were destroyed.

An EF-1 tornado northwest of Mattoon was on the ground for roughly a half-a-mile and was roughly 75 yards wide. One the ground for nearly a minute, the NWS said it snapped several utility poles along County Road 500 East and County Road 1100 North. Winds reached 100 miles per hour before it lifted near Highway 45.

An EF1 with 90 mile per hour winds hit Paris and was on the ground for 3.6 miles. It was more than 400 yards wide and lasted roughly four minutes, according to NWS. The tornado damaged several homes, buildings, and trees. NWS said the tornado eventually lifted on the north side of Sycamore Hills County Club.

Another EF1 with 110 mile per hour winds touched down in Lovington. An EF2 with 115 mile per hour winds hit Hammond and a EF1 reaching wind speeds up to 100 mile per hour hit from Flatville to Gifford.

No one was hurt or killed from the storms.

The weekend storms were part of a massive system that moved through the U.S. NWS Lincoln said the storms regularly produced wind gusts in excess of 50 miles per hour.