Thursday, May 29 marks the 43rd anniversary of the deadly tornado that ripped through Marion.
The National Weather Service in Paducah reports on Saturday, May 29, 1982, a F-4 tornado carved a 17-mile long path across Williamson County, including the city of Marion. At times, the tornado was nearly a quarter mile wide.
The tornado first touched down about 3 miles northwest of Carterville around 3:05 p.m. After moving southeast across Carterville to Crainville, the twister then paralleled Illinois Route 13 through Marion.
Extensive damage occurred at the Williamson County Airport.
A truck plaza near Interstate 57 in western Marion was demolished.
A car was struck on Interstate 57 and exploded.
A motel and 3 shopping centers were damaged. Two of the 39 motel occupants were injured.
The Shawnee Village 190 unit apartment complex was destroyed and 2 schools were severely damaged. One person died when a wall fell and 2 more died when they were literally blown out of their homes.
In Marion, a total of 161 homes and 47 businesses were destroyed. In total, 648 homes were damaged with 40% of them destroyed.
The estimated damage was between $85 to $100 million.
The tornado claimed 10 lives in Marion, injured nearly 200, and left approximately 1,000 residents homeless across Williamson County.
This anniversary comes on the heels of an EF-4 tornado in southern parts of Marion on May 16. There were no fatalities in this storm, but seven people sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
