Belvidere Tornado: 48 years later

It was the worst tornado outbreak in Northern Illinois, with 10 tornadoes in north-central and northeast Illinois, three of those considered violent, F4 tornadoes.  From the outbreak, there were 58 fatalities with more than 1,000 people injured!

Many of us have vivid memories of that afternoon, as we were still young children, or knew someone who had either been injured or killed.  The tornado that went through Belvidere, killing 24 and injuring hundreds, was rated an F4 (at that time) with winds over 200 mph.  The tornado was on the ground for nearly 28 miles and up to half a mile wide. 

Back in 2006, Jim Allsopp - who was Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the Chicago National Weather Service - put together a complete summary of the tornadoes that touched down throughout Illinois.  Click here for that complete summary, including a weather synopsis and photos from that afternoon.