4 Tornadoes Swept Through Northern Illinois: National Weather Service

Here is a preliminary map from the National Weather Service reflecting the path of the tornadoes that swept through northern Illinois Thursday evening. The destructive EF-4 tornado that most heavily impacted locations near Rochelle to Fairdale had maximum estimated wind speeds between 180 and 200 miles per hours based on the damage survey assessment conducted Friday.

This was the first EF-4 tornado or stronger in Illinois since two EF-4 tornadoes occurred on Nov. 17, 2013, including one that struck the community of Washington. This was the 33rd EF-4 or stronger tornado in Illinois on record (since 1950), according to the NWS.

The NWS tracked three additional tornadoes in northern Illinois that night:

• a satellite tornado from the parent supercell that produced the long track EF-4 tornado brought EF-1 damage to a swath southeast of Belvidere, including the Summerfield Zoo
• an EF-0 satellite tornado was confirmed near Lindenwood via one of the aerial surveys conducted on Friday
• an EF-0 tornado was confirmed near Cherry Valley

In addition, four more tornadoes were tracked in central and far western Illinois. Those caused little damage.

Here is a reverse view of the EF-4 tornado’s path from the air.

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