Video shows the roof torn off a church and fallen trees after severe thunderstorms in Elgin.
The National Weather Service has confirmed at least four tornado touchdowns occurred in the Chicago area during a severe weather outbreak Friday.
One of those tornadoes touched down near Cedar Lake, located in Indiana’s Lake County. According to officials, the tornado was estimated to be an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, meaning it had three-second wind gusts between 86 and 110 miles per hour.
Three other EF-0 tornadoes, with estimated winds between 65 and 85 miles per hour, also touched down during the severe weather outbreak. One of the twisters touched down in Yorkville, located in Kendall County.
Another tornado impacted Hanover and Bartlett near the county line between Cook and DuPage counties, and a third touched down near Schererville and Merrillville in northwest Indiana.
Damage survey teams from the National Weather Service also examined damage signatures in eastern DeKalb County near DeKalb and Sycamore, and in western Kane County, including Maple Park and Burlington, but it’s believed at this time that straight-line winds caused damage in those communities.
Straight-line winds are also being blamed for storm damage that occurred in Elgin, ripping the roof off of an historic church.
Officials say there is a possibility of additional tornadoes, but investigations remain ongoing.
Local
There were no reports of injuries associated with Friday’s storms, which spawned multiple tornado warnings in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana.
Straight-line wind gusts in excess of 60 miles per hour were also reported around the Chicago area, causing thousands of ComEd customers to lose electricity and causing tree damage in numerous communities.
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