MT. VERNON — One person died and two were injured after a tornado touched down in Jefferson County.
Pat Brown, 60, of 18079 E. Lynchberg Rd., died from injuries sustained during the tornado, said Jefferson County Sheriff Roger Mulch.
He said two people were treated for contusions and bruising at the scene and were released. He declined to identify the two people who were injured.
Three houses on East Lynchberg Road about 3 miles north of Illinois Highway 142 were damaged, one leveled, Mulch said.
“A tornado struck three residences in the 19000 block of East Lynchberg Road,” Mulch said. “One house received very little damage on the outside, but because the wind blew out the windows, it is very badly damaged on the inside. One house was leveled, it’s just a pile of rubble.”
The structure that was destroyed was a double-wide mobile home. The ruins of the home are spread across the street from where it sat, next to a greenhouse that was also destroyed.
Mulch said the tornado on Lynchberg Road was seen by trained storm spotters and local law enforcement. He said two Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies had spotted the storm and were working to track its progress, but they did not see it hit the most-damaged area on East Lynchberg Road.
He said Friday afternoon’s storm approached from the south-southwest and headed north-northeast.
The tornado destroyed the double-wide mobile home and damaged part of a garage structure on the property, but left an Amish school yards away undamaged.
School was in session, Mulch said, while the tornado passed by.
Henry Mast, 6, was one of the students in class who watched the tornado as it moved nearby.
“I saw it, but I didn’t know what it is,” he said, adding that he was frightened.
Friends, family and neighbors worked on Friday to remove valuables and keepsakes from the remnants of the home before night fell.
There was a tornado warning for southeastern Jefferson County until 1:30 p.m. according to the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky. According to the NWS, at 12:46 p.m., local law enforcement reported a tornado near DuQuoin, moving northeast at 25 miles per hour. There were numerous reports of tornado touch downs and funnel clouds with this storm, which moved northeast into Jefferson County.
Mulch said cells popped up across the county, causing rotation and funnel cloud sightings in several areas.
There was also a severe thunderstorm warning for Jefferson County and the Mt. Vernon area. A severe thunderstorm watch continued until 7 p.m.
