MARION COUNTY, Ill. – A tornado touched down in Illinois on Sunday afternoon.
The Salem Department of Emergency Management said there were funnel cloud sightings in the area of Hoots Chapel and Boone Street in Salem Township, Illinois just before 4 p.m. Sunday. The tornado made ground contact in a field just west of Salem.
The department said it appears to have been “very weak cold air funnels.” The department said in a Facebook post that the pictures and videos sent to them by residents make it seem that “when it lifted out of the field, it formed several more times as it went over town, but never to [their] knowledge made ground contact again.”
The US National Weather Service Saint Louis Missouri will review the videos, according to the department.
“It is usually not necessary for the National Weather Service to issue Tornado Warnings for cold air funnels since it is so rare for them to make it all the way to the ground and become a tornado. They are also difficult to detect on radar since they are very weak. Spotter and public reports are essential when cold air funnels are in the area. ** The NWS will usually issue a Special Weather Statement when cold air funnels have been reported. ** Of course, a Tornado Warning will still be issued if it is felt that a funnel will touch down,” the National Weather Service said.
Tornado sirens were not activated because by the time officials were alerted to the sightings, the funnels were no longer in the area.