Massive Fairdale Tornado Was One Of 11 In Illinois Last Week
By John Dodge
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Last Thursday's severe weather created a total of 11 tornadoes in Illinois, including the rare EF-4 storm that destroyed two small towns northwest of Chicago.
In fact, the tornado that hit Fairdale and Rochelle was the most powerful storm to hit the Chicago area since the deadly EF-5 Plainfield tornado in 1990.
Of the eleven confirmed tornadoes, seven were in north central Illinois (Chicago area); two in northwest Illinois (Quad Cities area); and two in central Illinois, according to a report for the National Weather Service.
"Six of the tornadoes across north central Illinois formed from one supercell thunderstorm. This includes the strongest tornado that was a long track EF-4 with maximum winds of 200 mph," the NWS said in its report.
The tornado began near Franklin Grove (Lee County), and spun through the northwest side of Rochelle (Ogle County), across I-39, through Fairdale (DeKalb County), and ending south of Belvidere (far southern Boone County), the NWS said.
Two people were killed, both in Fairdale, and 22 others were injured. More than 100 homes in Fairdale and Rochelle were destroyed or severely damaged.
It was the first EF-4 or stronger tornado in the Chicago area in 25 years, since a F5 tornado struck Plainfield on August 28, 1990.
This was the strongest tornado on record (since 1950) for both Ogle and DeKalb Counties.
It the first EF-4 tornado or stronger in Illinois since two EF-4 tornadoes occurred on November 17, 2013, including one that struck the community of downstate Washington.
This was the 33rd EF-4 or stronger tornado in Illinois on record (since 1950).