2013 Washington, Illinois tornado

In the late morning hours of Sunday, November 17, 2013, a powerful and devastating tornado tracked through central Illinois, inflicting catastrophic damage to the city of Washington and several farmsteads in the rural areas past the city. The tornado resulted in three fatalities and injured 125 people. This tornado was one of the two violent tornadoes in the tornado outbreak of November 17, 2013, and was the strongest, costliest, and longest-tracked tornado. It was the deadliest tornado of the outbreak, tied with another intense tornado that went through Brookport, Illinois. The tornado was one of the nine violent tornadoes of the below-average yet destructive year of 2013.

The intense supercell responsible for the tornado first produced at 10:59 a.m. CST 2.5 miles (4.0 km) east of North Pekin; The tornado crossed I-474, intensifying to EF2 strength. The tornado crossed I-74, strengthening to EF3 intensity; couple of homes suffered severe damage north of the interstate. The tornado fluctuated between EF2 and EF3 strength as the tornado passed near East Peoria. As the tornado entered Washington, the tornado became violent, leveling some homes in a subdivision at the edge of the city. The tornado continued northeast, destroying an apartment complex and leveling an auto parts store before intensifying to a peak intensity of 190 mph (310 km/h). Numerous well-built homes were demolished, and rows of houses were leveled and swept away. The tornado maintained a high-end EF4 intensity through Washington. The tornado maintained its intensity after leaving the city, obliterating farmsteads north of Washington. Eventually, the tornado weakened upon exiting Tazewell County, fluctuating between EF2 and EF3 strength; some homes either received minor to significant damage as the tornado passed near the towns of Roanoke, Minonk, and Dana. The tornado dissipated 48 minutes after touching down east of Long Point at 11:47 a.m. CST, covering a path length of approximately 46.2 miles (74.4 km) and reaching a maximum peak width of 0.5 miles (880 yd; 0.80 km).

The tornado caused $935 million (2013 USD) in damages ($1.23 billion adjusted for inflation); it caused $800 million in damage in Washington alone. The tornado was also the strongest to occur in November in the state of Illinois since at least 1950. Following the tornado, the city of Washington and other communities devastated by the tornado outbreak received massive amount of aid from charity organizations. Additionally, a controversy began as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declined federal aid to the state of Illinois after the tornado outbreak, leading to outrage from the mayor of Washington and other state officials.