A Total Of 5 Tornadoes Hit Chicago Area During Monday Storm, National Weather Service Confirms
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The tornado that hit Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood during the derecho on Monday afternoon turns out to have been one of seven in northern Illinois and five in the greater Chicago area, the National Weather Service reported.
CBS 2 Meteorologist Mary Kay Kleist reported the Rogers Park tornado was an EF1 with a maximum wind speed of 110 mph and a path length of 3.2 miles. It started at Crawford and Touhy avenues in suburban Lincolnwood, and moved through West Rogers Park and Rogers Park before turning into a waterspout as it headed out over Lake Michigan. The area around Jarvis Avenue in Rogers Park was hit particularly hard.
The last time a tornado hit the city was on Sept. 3, 2018. That brief, weak tornado was detected on the city's West Side.
The most severe tornado in Chicago over the past several decades struck on April 21, 1967. It started in Palos Hills and traveled through Oak Lawn and the South Side of Chicago. A total of 33 people died, and 500 people were injured by this 200-yard-wide funnel that traveled 16 miles and caused over $50 million in damage.
Meanwhile on Monday, an EF1 tornado also touched down in Marengo, with a maximum wind speed of 95 mph and a path length of 5.7 miles. It started on Harmony Road just southwest of Interstate 90 near the McHenry-DeKalb County line.
An EF1 tornado also touched down in Wheaton, with maximum wind speed at 90 mph and a path length of 0.3 mile. It touched down near Seminary Avenue and Scott Street and knocked down a 50-foot steeple around the north side of the College Church in Wheaton.
In Lombard and Villa Park, another EF1 tornado barreled through with maximum winds of 95 mph and a path length of 2.1 miles.. The Wheaton storm produced another region of tornado damage east of I-355, east of Lilacia Park. The most damage was at The Lombard Common.
A fifth EF1 tornado touched down near Channel Lake in Lake county and moved through Camp Lake in Kenosha County, Wisconsin before continuing over Lake Michigan. Its maximum wind speed was 90 mph and its path length was 3.75 miles.
The other two northern Illinois tornadoes were in the Rockford area.
The storm Monday took down trees and power lines across the Chicago area and also caused widespread power outages.
