Rare January Tornado in Northern Illinois Monday Afternoon Rated EF3

Updated: January 9, 2008

A weather pattern more typical of early May than early January across northern Illinois brought severe weather to the area Monday afternoon. Originally two tornadoes were reported with these storms in Boone County and McHenry County along the Wisconsin border. On Tuesday, damage surveys conducted by National Weather Service personnel revealed one long continuous path from a single tornado.  The tornado started at 3:30 PM about 1.2 miles north of Poplar Grove in Boone County and ended at 3:48 PM about 3.2 miles north-northeast of Harvard in McHenry County. 

Tornado Rating --- EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale

Maximum winds --- 136 to 165 MPH

Path Length --- 13.2 miles

Maximum width --- Around 100 yards

There were four injuries reported in Boone County and one in McHenry County.

Please refer to the full Public Information Statement for additional details.

This weather event was unusually intense and climatologically very rare.  The National Weather Service has tornado records dating back to 1950. In this 58 year period of record, only one other tornado has ever been documented anywhere in north central or northeast Illinois in the month of January. That tornado occurred on January 25, 1950 at Momence in Kankakee County. It was rated F2 on the Fujita scale. It was a day similar to Monday with temperatures in the middle 60s. In fact, Chicago set the all time record high for the month of January, with a temperature of 67 degrees, on that date.

Map of tornado track


 

Damage Photos from Ground and Aerial Surveys

Conducted by NWS Personnel and Illinois Group 22 of the Civil Air Patrol

EF2 Tornado Damage at Edwards Apple Orchard
EF2 damage at Edwards Apple Orchard northeast of Poplar Grove near the intersection of Beaverton Road and Centerville Road.

House destroyed by EF3 tornado northeast of Poplar Grove.
House destroyed by EF3 tornado, also near intersection of Beaverton Road and Centerville Road.

House destroyed by EF3 tornado.
Ground-level view of house northeast of Poplar Grove destroyed by EF3 tornado.


House at Edwards Apple Orchard
House damaged by EF2 tornado at Edwards Apple Orchard.


Hay bales rolled across field by tornadic storm.
Tracks showing where large hay bales were rolled through a field by the storm, near Boone School Road.


Garages and machine shed destroyed by tornado
Garages and machine shed destroyed by EF1 tornado on Leroy Center Road.


Hay barn collapsed on Capron Road
Hay barn collapsed on Capron Road.


Homes damaged and train derailed at Lawrence
Homes damaged and train derailed at Lawrence.


Snow debris
The climatologically unusual nature of this event is illustrated by a large pile of leftover snow covered by tornado debris and surrounded by topped trees and twisted metal siding.



 

Evolution of Storm on NWS Doppler Radar

Time (CST) Reflectivity and Circulation CenterZ scale Storm-Relative Velocity
srm scale
325 PM Z at 325 PM CST. SRM at 325 PM CST.
330 PM Z at 330 PM CST. SRM at 330 PM CST.
335 PM Z at 335 PM CST. SRM at 335 PM CST.
339 PM Z at 339 PM CST. SRM at 339 PM CST.
345 PM Z at 345 PM CST. SRM at 345 PM CST.


PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO/ROMEOVILLE IL
330 PM CST TUE JAN 08 2008

...BOONE AND MCHENRY COUNTY TORNADO...

A TORNADO STRUCK NORTHERN BOONE AND NORTHWEST MCHENRY COUNTIES MONDAY AFTERNOON. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS SURVEYED THE DAMAGE TODAY. THE TORNADO WAS RATED EF3 ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OF 136 TO 165 MPH. THE TORNADO HAD A PATH LENGTH OF 13.2 MILES AND A MAXIMUM WIDTH OF AROUND 100 YARDS. THE TORNADO STARTED AT 330 PM ABOUT 1.2 MILES NORTH OF POPLAR GROVE IN BOONE COUNTY AND ENDED AT 348 PM ABOUT 3.2 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF HARVARD IN MCHENRY COUNTY. THERE WERE FOUR INJURIES IN BOONE COUNTY AND ONE IN MCHENRY COUNTY.

THE FIRST SIGNS OF DAMAGE WERE AT QUAIL TRAP ROAD JUST EAST OF POPLAR GROVE ROAD WHERE TREES WERE DAMAGED AND SECTIONS OF ROOFING WERE REMOVED FROM A SHED. THE TORNADO INTENSIFIED TO EF2 INTENSITY AT EDWARDS APPLE ORCHARD ON CENTERVILLE ROAD. A LARGE BARN WAS DESTROYED AND OTHER BUILDINGS WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED. LARGE TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. THE TORNADO REACHED ITS MAXIMUM INTENSITY OF EF3 AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF CENTERVILLE ROAD AND BEAVERTON ROAD. A TWO STORY FARM HOUSE AND GARAGE WERE LEVELED AND LARGE TREES WERE STRIPPED OF ALL BRANCHES. THE TORNADO WAS ABOUT 100 YARDS WIDE THROUGH THIS AREA.

THE TORNADO CONTINUED EAST NORTHEAST ACROSS STIMES ROAD AND EVENTUALLY CROSSED THE MCHENRY-BOONE COUNTY LINE NEAR HUNTER ROAD. MOST OF THE DAMAGE THROUGH THIS PART OF THE TORNADO PATH WAS EF1...THOUGH IT WEAKENED TO EF0 NEAR THE COUNTY LINE. THERE WAS DAMAGE TO TREES...POWER LINES...BARNS...AND SHEDS. A FEW FARM HOUSES HAD SHINGLES OR SMALL SECTIONS OF ROOF DAMAGED.

THE TORNADO THEN CROSSED THE BOONE/MCHENRY COUNTY LINE AS A WEAK EF0 TORNADO WITH JUST MINOR TREE DAMAGE AT THIS POINT. IT CROSSED HUNTER ROAD AND CONTINUED TO TRACK NORTHEAST ACROSS RYAN ROAD AS AN EF0 AND CAUSED MAINLY MINOR TREE DAMAGE. IT CROSSED WHITE OAKS ROAD THEN IT UPROOTED A HARDWOOD TREE AND SNAPPED OFF PINE TREES AT THEIR BASE ALONG MAXON ROAD. THIS DAMAGE CONTINUED TO BE EF0 DAMAGE WITH WINDS ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 75 AND 80 MPH. THE TORNADO INTENSIFIED AS IT MOVED TOWARD THE TOWN OF LAWRENCE...WHERE IT PRODUCED THE WORST DAMAGE IN MCHENRY COUNTY. SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OCCURRED IN THE TOWN OF LAWRENCE...PARTICULARLY AT A HOUSE THAT HAD MORE THAN HALF OF ITS ROOF RIPPED OFF AND GARAGE BLOWN OUT.

THE TORNADO THEN MOVED ACROSS THE CHICAGO AND NORTHWESTERN RAILROAD WHERE IT BLEW 12 RAILROAD FREIGHT CARS OFF THE TRACK. THE TRAIN WAS MOVING AT THE TIME THE TORNADO HIT IT...SO AS THE MAIN ENGINE STOPPED...THE REMAINING CARS ON THE TRACK CONTINUED ALONG IT AND SLAMMED INTO THE FRONT PART OF THE TRAIN. THIS CAUSED A FEW MORE CARS TO DERAIL...INCLUDING ONE CONTAINING HAZARDOUS MATERIALS THAT CAUSED THE EVACUATION OF THE TOWN OF LAWRENCE. THE DAMAGE IN LAWRENCE WAS RATED AS EF2 WITH WINDS UP TO 110 MPH.

AS THE TORNADO MOVED EAST OF LAWRENCE IT ONCE AGAIN STARTED TO WEAKEN WITH SOME TREE DAMAGE AND SHINGLES OFF OF A FEW HOUSES ON THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF TOWN. IT THEN RAN ALONG OAK GROVE ROAD FOR A STRETCH WHERE IT PRODUCED EF1 DAMAGE WITH A HARDWOOD TREE SNAPPED AT ITS BASE AND KNOCKED OVER AN OLD...WEAKLY STRUCTURED BARN WITH ESTIMATED WINDS AROUND 100 MPH. IT THEN HEADED ACROSS FARM FIELDS AND HEADED FOR HWY 14 WHERE IT DAMAGED A METAL BARN AND SHEARED A FEW TREES. AS IT CROSSED HIGHWAY 14 IT FLIPPED A SEMI-TRAILER AND INJURED THE DRIVER AT A TRUCK STOP WEIGH STATION. IT CONTINUED ACROSS OAK GROVE ROAD WHERE IT LIFTED. NO FURTHER DAMAGE WAS FOUND ON UP TO THE WISCONSIN BORDER. THE MAXIMUM WIDTH OF THE TORNADO IN MCHENRY COUNTY WAS AROUND 50 YARDS.

ALLSOPP/IZZI/HALBACH/WOJTOWICZ


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