Illinois Tornado: 5 Things To Know About Sunday's Storms

WOODRIDGE, IL — A tornado ripped through many of Chicago's suburbs Sunday night and into Monday morning, leaving at least five injured and countless homes damaged. The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado touched down in Woodridge late Sunday night and likely damaged other nearby towns in DuPage County.

If you're from Illinois, you've probably experienced the threat of severe weather — from severe storm warnings to tornado sirens.

Here are five things to know about the latest Illinois tornado, including how it compares to other tornados in Illinois' history.

1. The most significant damage from Sunday's storms is in the southwest suburbs. Naperville, Woodridge and Darien were hit the hardest with some damage in Burr Ridge as well, according to the National Weather Service. Naperville officials said at least 125 homes sustained damage due to the storm.
2. The tornado was classified as an EF-3, which is an increase from the EF-2+ rating weather officials originally gave it. EF-3 tornados can produce winds over 140 mph. The last tornado with winds that strong touched down in Ottawa in 2017. Before that, the Coal City tornado of 2015 was classified at an EF-2+ and later an EF-3. Tornadoes are categorized using the Enhanced Fujita scale, which measures the strength of tornadoes.
3. At least five people were injured, one critically, according to emergency personnel. The majority of those injured came from the Ranchview neighborhood in Naperville. Others with minor injuries were treated at the scene.
4. There was only one tornado, officially. The National Weather Service estimated the tornado caused the most significant damage from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m, with the rest of the damage coming from downbursts, or strong, ground-level winds.
5. The event also left 22,000 people without power, 16 Naperville homes "uninhabitable" and multiple roads closed, according to ComEd and emergency personnel. Reports of gas leaks also followed the damage, but were cleared.

Coal City saw significant damage from an EF-3 tornado in 2015, which left at least 13 people injured and leveled neighborhoods. For those who are old enough to remember it, the deadliest tornado event in recent memory happened in Plainfield in 1990, when 29 people were killed.

Others recall the Oak Lawn tornado of 1967, which killed 24 people — 13 of them children — on what would come to be called "Black Friday."

RELATED: At Least 2 Darien Areas Hit Hard In Storm

Does your area have storm damage? Send your photos and stories to lisa.farver@patch.com.