Severe winds and storms overnight left a trail of damage across the Chicago area and in parts of Illinois. The far west suburbs followed tornado warnings in Dupage, Kendall, Kane, and Dekalb counties.
In addition to that damage, multiple barns were left destroyed in Somonauk Township in Dekalb.
Barn owner Scott Thorp said he was still awake when the storm hit and was not expecting to come out to what he saw.
“As far as all the damage, the whole roof came off the one building and the other one is completely demolished,” Thorp said. “This is not the first time this has happened. No one’s hurt. That’s all that matters. Could always be worse. We’re safe.”
Advertisement
Video captured overnight shows the barn in pieces, with the roof completely missing. Big pieces of metal debris were left all over the ground. Thorp said there were two structures, and both were total losses.
The damage from those winds was seen all over the Chicagoland area.
Storms left massive trees down against homes, some completely uprooted, in Hanover Park near Andover Road and Arlington Drive. A trampoline was tossed onto a home’s roof.
In Rogers Park, a tree came down on at least two cars, and in northwest suburban Elgin, fire crews responded to multiple storm-related calls after a tornado warning.
High winds ripped off the roof of a historic church that had been around for over a hundred years. It was first destroyed by a tornado in 1920.
Advertisement
Many communities will have a lot of clean-up ahead in the coming hours as the sun rises and the damage becomes more visible.
Asal Rezaei
Asal Rezaei joined CBS2 Chicago as a general assignment reporter in August 2021.
BEECHER CITY, Ill. (WAND) – Farms were damaged in Effingham County Wednesday evening when a powerful storm swept through at around 8 p.m.
The McKay Farm in Beecher City was heavily damaged when the rapidly moving storm hit.
“Two buildings were totally destroyed,” Dan McKay told WAND News on Thursday. “We’ve got five grain bins and they’re all damaged.”
Advertisement
The buildings collapsed onto farm equipment and a semi that were parked in the structures. A utility pole was snapped and ripped out of the ground.
In nearby Shumway, another farm was hit. A barn collapsed, with a grain bin being ripped apart and debris traveling several hundred feet through a nearby corn field. A house on the property was also damaged.
Powerful tornadoes leave behind devastation in Illinois – CBS News
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Watch CBS News
Violent tornadoes ripped through central Illinois on Wednesday, leaving behind swaths of destruction. One man described how he shielded himself and his family from the storms. Rob Marciano reports.
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Multiple rounds of severe storms impacted central Illinois on Wednesday bringing damaging wind gusts and very heavy rain. Our area was sparred from the worst of the tornadoes, but areas south of I-72 were not so fortunate with damage to homes and injuries reported.
An outflow boundary from our morning storms struggled to get any further north than highway 136, which was about 30 miles south of what was anticipated early this morning. This kept the risk of strong tornadoes just south of our local region, though we still had plenty of rain and instances of large hail and gusty winds roll through central Illinois.
The worst of the wind came with the storms in the morning. As the severe storms moved through the area they produced measured gust of 60-70 mph with localized gusts estimated to be around 80 mph. The winds resulted in tree, powerline, and structural damage from Knox through McLean County.
Storm Reports
Galesburg – Tree and power line damage Williamsfield – Roof partially torn off building Princeville – Tree damage Dunlap – 60 mph wind gust Bellevue – 60 mph wind gust Germantown Hills – Trees down Roanoke – 60 mph wind gust El Paso – Power poles snapped El Paso – Multiple semis and campers rolled on I-39 Gidley – 70 mph wind gust Chenoa – Semi rolled on I-55
