Cleanup begins for Elgin residents after tornados rip through community
ELGIN, Ill. (CBS) – It's been a surreal day in the Chicago area after several tornados touched down, uprooted trees, and ripped the roofs off buildings.
CBS 2's Chris Tye was in Elgin where two tornados touched down. He spoke to residents cleaning up after a stressful night.
The 100 mph winds sent folks into crawl spaces in their rural homes which don't have basements. They came out to damage that will take weeks to clean up. It's been 24 hours that felt like a dream and not reality.
Things got dark, scary, and loud in a hurry.
"The tornado touched down somewhere around here," said Gunnar Peterson, an Elgin resident, referring to his horse barn.
The tornado spooked but didn't injure Nutmeg or Cinnamon, his two horses, but just feet from them, dozens of trees were uprooted in seconds.
"It really happened in 15 seconds, kinda out of nowhere," Peterson said. "You get that alert on your phone and you don't think anything is gonna happen."
What did happen was 100 mph winds sliced right through his family property and his neighbor's.
"I think the tornado came through this way," said Karin Wittich, another Elgin resident.
Wittich and her boyfriend were watching a separate tornado strike at a nearby golf course, unaware a separate weather event was unfolding at their property.
"I'm feeling very grateful that I'm safe," said Eric Nosal. "All my neighbors are safe."
Decades-old trees that were 5 feet in diameter were snapped.
"That's power," he said. "That's unbelievable power."
Nosal's tractor shed was decimated, but his home remained largely intact.
"I'm surprised any of it's standing to be honest with you," he said.
