EF0 tornado touched down, destroyed barn in Northern Illinois Tuesday, NWS confirms
CHICAGO (CBS) - An EF0 tornado touched down during severe storms in Northern Illinois Tuesday night and destroyed a barn, the National Weather Service confirmed a day later.
The NWS said the tornado touched down northwest of Capron in Boone County and then crossed into northwest McHenry County.
The tornado was to blame for destroying a barn near Harvard, Illinois, about half a mile south of the Wisconsin state line.
At 2:35 p.m., the Harvard Fire Protection District was called to the livestock barn on Weidner Road.
The two-story, 30-foot-by-50-foot barn collapsed. As seen from Chopper 2, the barn's roof was on the ground, and the rest of the structure was reduced to a heap of broken boards and timbers.
The animals were all living on the lower level. When the barn collapsed, it created a void space on the lower level, which saved most of them, according to the Marengo Fire & Rescue Districts.
Firefighters successfully rescued 24 sheep, 18 goats, one cow, and several chickens and ducks. But four animals did die, and two remained unaccounted for late Tuesday. There were no reports of human injuries.
The NWS said the tornado proceeded into southern Wisconsin after destroying the barn. A shed was also destroyed along Six Corners Road near Highway 67 in an area of farmland just west of Walworth, Wisconsin.
Another tornado is suspected to have touched down in LaPorte County, Indiana, Tuesday afternoon, but this tornado has not been confirmed.
The same storm system that hit the Chicago area Tuesday afternoon produced significant and destructive tornadoes in Western Michigan.
In Portage, Michigan, south of Kalamazoo, a strip mall housing a barbershop and a Pizza Hut was destroyed. A FedEx facility was also severely damaged, and people were trapped inside at one point, though everyone was safely evacuated, CBS affiliate WWMT-TV reported.
Crews searched the wreckage Wednesday to ensure no one was trapped in the rubble.
Within Kalamazoo, 16 to 20 people were injured after a tornado hit the Pavilion Estates mobile home park. Entire homes were destroyed, WWMT reported.
The Portage, Michigan tornado was an EF-2, with a maximum wind speed of 135 mph, WWMT-TV reported. The tornado measured 300 yards in diameter, the station reported.
A tornado also touched down Tuesday in St. Joseph County, Michigan. The area sustained significant tornado damage in its central, north central, and northeastern sections, WWMT reported. Two non-life-threatening injuries were blamed
In response to the storms, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Southwest Michigan.