Meteorological history | |
---|---|
Formed | December 18, 1957, 4:35 p.m. CST (UTC−06:00) |
F5 tornado | |
on the Fujita scale | |
Highest winds | >261 mph (420 km/h) |
Overall effects | |
Fatalities | 1[1][2] |
Injuries | 6[2][1] |
Damage | $250,000–$500,000 (1957 USD)[2][1] |
Part of the Tornado outbreak sequence of December 18–20, 1957 and tornado outbreaks of 1957 |
On December 18, 1957, a violent tornado struck Sunfield, Illinois, completely wiping out the community.[1] The extreme damage in Sunfield caused the National Weather Service to assign a rating of F5 on the Fujita scale.[3][2][4][5]
The east-northeastward moving tornado struck Sunfield at the junction of U.S. Route 51 and Illinois Route 154, also called the Sunfield Y or Wye on account of the branching shape of the intersection.[1][4][6] The United States Weather Bureau documented "very heavy destruction", albeit in a small area, and referred to the Sunfield Y as having been "wiped out".[1] Tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis stated that the “entire community literally vanished”[7] Several people survived the tornado by taking cover in buildings, including some which were destroyed.[1] A man who remained outside was killed,[1] later found in a drainage ditch by the road.[6] In total, the tornado killed one person, injured six others, and caused between $250,000 to $500,000 (1957 USD) in damage.[1][2][7]
The United States Weather Bureau documented that the tornado reached a maximum width of 200 yards (180 m) and traveled 5 miles (8.0 km).[1] They also documented that the tornado caused between $50,000 to $500,000 (1957 USD) in damage.[1] After the creation of the Fujita scale in 1971, the National Weather Service assigned a rating of F5 to the tornado.[8] In the 2010s, the National Centers for Environmental Information published information about the tornado, which included a path length of 5.4 miles (8.7 km) and a damage total of $250,000 (1957 USD).[2]