Damage survey finds four tornadoes touched down Thursday

Update as of Sunday evening:  Survey concludes five tornadoes touched down Thursday evening.  One EF-4, two EF-2 and two EF-0.


Friday the sun rose on destruction that was left in the wake of a strong tornado that moved through Northern Illinois.  As the skies cleared Friday, the National Weather Service sent out teams to survey the damage. They do this to try and get a grasp on the strength of the tornado, and then assign it a rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The NWS gave the tornado that touched down near Franklin Grove and ended north of Kirkland, tearing through the town of Fairdale, an EF-4 rating.  This is still a preliminary rating, however, as the NWS still has to do an aerial survey, which will take place either Friday or Saturday.

The National Weather Service believes this was a single, long track tornado, which means it could have been on the ground for about an hour. The estimated peak wind was between 180-200 mph, nearing EF-5 status. The length of the tornado was estimated to be a half mile wide, killing two and overall injuring 22.  Preliminary results show the tornado touched down just Northeast of Franklin Grove around 6:39pm before traveling nearly 29 miles to the northeast, and ending roughly 4 miles Northwest of Kirkland around 7:17pm.

Another tornado touched down roughly 3 miles south of Belvidere and appeared to be on the ground for a little over 2 miles.  Estimated peak wind speeds were 105 to 110 mph, giving this tornado a ranking of an EF-1.  According to the damage survey, this tornado touched down near Flora Rd and is the tornado that struck Summerfield Zoo, killing two animals and causing significant damage to many outbuildings.  The tornado continued east across Genoa Rd where three power poles were snapped and blown over.  This tornado is believed to be a satellite tornado of the main EF-4 tornado that went through Fairdale.  A satellite tornado is a tornado that rotates around the primary tornado.

Two EF-0 tornadoes touched down as well.  One south of Cherry Valley with wind speeds estimated 65 mph and a path length of 2.8 miles.  The width of this tornado was 25 yards.  The second EF-0 tornado touched down just East of Lindenwood and was on the ground for almost 2 miles.  It had estimated wind speeds of 65 mph and was approximately 100 yards wide.  This one is also believed to be a satellite tornado of the main tornado.