A powerful tornado ripped through Jefferson County, Illinois, on Sunday evening, resulting in the deaths of two elderly women and injuring at least five other people. The severe weather event caused significant destruction, particularly in Mount Vernon, where multiple buildings were levelled.
Sheriff Jeff Bullard of Jefferson County confirmed on Monday that the fatalities were Sarita Kimble, 62, and Delores Shelton, 83. Both women were inside separate structures that were completely destroyed by the tornado. The sheriff's office reported via Facebook that the tornado touched down around 5pm on Sunday, obliterating at least three mobile homes. Fortunately, none of the five injured individuals sustained life-threatening injuries.
This incident follows another tornado-related fatality earlier on Saturday in Sedgwick, Kansas, where 64-year-old Ricky Schale died after his family's mobile home was torn from its anchors. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued 117 tornado warnings on Sunday afternoon and evening, with 40 tornado reports filed with the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), primarily across Illinois and Indiana.
AccuWeather highlighted that Illinois has already recorded 164 tornado reports in 2026 up to last Thursday, surpassing any other year since records began. Meteorologists suggest that atmospheric conditions this year have favoured Illinois, with storm systems remaining north of Texas and Oklahoma. Additionally, a drought in the western US has contributed to warm air aloft over Texas and Oklahoma, potentially limiting severe weather in the southern US.
The SPC, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, updated its data on Monday, indicating that 1,031 tornadoes have been reported nationwide in 2026. Of these, 40 were classified as highly destructive EF2 severity or greater. The increasing frequency and intensity of concentrated tornado outbreaks are being linked by experts to the ongoing climate crisis, driven primarily by carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels.