Brief tornado surprises residents in Joliet area
JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) – From uprooted trees and toppled fences, to funnel clouds over open fields, we're learning more about Monday's storms and the damage they left.
The community CBS 2 went to is about a block away from the Will/Kendall County line. Residents there have Plainfield addresses but receive services from Joliet, which explains why the National Weather Service said the tornado technically touched down in Joliet.
Near the intersection of Townsend Boulevard and Steward Lane, residents said they saw what looked like a tornado made its way down Townsend, taking down trees and fences. One of those trees toppled right on a house. Fences were also blown down.
It was just after 9:30 a.m. on Monday when residents said the winds picked up and things started flying.
CBS 2 spoke to one resident, Erik Langorgen, who was pulling out of his driveway when he all of the sudden felt a gust of wind. That's when trees and debris took flight.
While he had minimal damage, a tree came down into his neighbor's pool and a gazebo was also blow into another neighbor's yard.
One thing many residents said, they were taken completely off guard by the weather event, especially how no one received an alert or no sirens in town went off.
"I do get it on my phone where stuff pops up, but I got absolutely nothing," Langorgen said. "It just came down quick."
Langorgen added he was still in his truck when he saw garbage cans "flying."
"I back my truck up a little bit, and all of the sudden, things started crashing down," he said.
That moment was captured on surveillance footage from a nearby driveway. It showed torrential winds take out fences and trees in a matter of seconds.
"We have two kids in school half a mile away and we never hear a thing," said Jason Lammbert, another resident. "What if this tornado started a block away? What if that was four blocks away?"
He added, "The technology is there. That's what I don't understand."
While CBS 2 is still looking into why sirens did not appear to go off, Joliet Fire Chief Jeff Carey said the NWS issuing a tornado warning triggers the tornado sirens. The NWS said it was showing high winds in the area. The tornado was quick, less than 30 seconds and relatively weak.
