CHICAGO — Saturday’s severe weather spurred at least three verified tornadoes in northern Illinois that have been confirmed by meteorologists at the National Weather Service’s Chicago office, agency officials said Sunday.
No one was injured as a direct result of those tornadoes, all of which were considered “weak” when using the Enhanced Fujita scale, the universal method for evaluating a tornado’s strength. In addition, there were multiple reports of wind damage in the Rockford area, but experts attribute that to “straight line winds” and not a tornado.
The first tornado occurred beginning at 4:44 p.m. in DuPage County. Known as the Oak Brook tornado, the EF-0 tornado had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph as it snaked a 1.9-mile path beginning southwest of Oak Brook, moving to the northeast, according to the weather service. The tornado had a maximum width of 60 yards and it touched down near the Hilton Hotel and Willow Crest Golf Club and ended in Central Park in Oak Brook, forecasters said. “Damage along the path was characterized by snapped tree branches and a few uprooted trees, as well as partial roof loss to an outbuilding. The tornado was on the ground for approximately three minutes,” according to a weather service summary.
