tornados? (Chicago, Bolingbrook, Oak Lawn: house, dorm, school)

[2KidsforMe]

Please forgive my ignorance, but are tornados a problem in Illinois and specifically the Chicago area? Thanks for any replies.

[via chicago]

tornados can strike anywhere in the chicago region. theres a myth that they cant strike downtown, but thats simply not true. we had a near miss last year. it was on the lake and narrowly avoided coming on land. there were a a couple bad ones out in Plainfield in the 90s, that it garnered the nickname "tornado alley". so in short, illinois can definitely get hit at any given time, and most certainly does on a yearly basis.

some clips from the tornado last summer:


YouTube - Tornado Warning High Above Downtown Chicago

YouTube - Loyola Chicago tornado (note, frat boys are narrating this one, so the language is a little "rough" . but still pretty spectacular footage)

YouTube - Loyola Chicago Tornado Video 2

[2KidsforMe]

Umm..............Yikes! There have been tornados in Eastern MA, but they are very rare. An F5 struck nearby my home in the 1950's and killed over 90 people. Is this something that you worry about all season, like my Grandma in Witchita does?

[triton1]

Originally Posted by 2KidsforMe

Please forgive my ignorance, but are tornados a problem in Illinois and specifically the Chicago area? Thanks for any replies.

According to weatherman Tom Skilling, it could happen one day. I actually met him at fermilab during his annual severe weather seminar. I asked him; "Can an F-5 really hit downtown chicago and still be spinning at 300+ miles per hour when it hits the lake?" Tom's answer; "It could happen."

[sonicreducer]

Yes, tornadoes are a big concern for Illinois, for pretty much the whole state. It's part of Tornado Alley, as someone else remarked (although as that link would tell you, deciding on what exactly constitutes "tornado alley" is up for debate, and may constantly be in flux). Illinois is flat, and largely devoid of trees in many locations, which tornadoes love. If you're interested in where tornadoes have historically hit across the state, check Tornado Maps of Illinois. That page does a great job or showing you where tornadoes have occurred throughout the state from 1950 to today, by indicating their "path" on a state map on a year to year basis.

I'm from central IL, and have had several very close encounters with tornadoes. A tornado hit Homer when I was about 7, and took off some roofs, uprooted a huge tree, and just really blew a bunch of debris around. It apparently "hopped" right over my grandparents' house and took a roof off of another house less than a block away!

Another twister his right outside of Allerton when I was about 10, during the town's Centennial celebration. It didn't do much to the town (and it's so darned small that it could've wiped it out easily!), but it did blow out one of the windows in my dad's house. One of my cats escaped during the storm through the window, and when I found her, she was caked in mud and was TERRIFIED of storms for the rest of her life.

A really terrible tornado hit Ogden, IL in 1996 and killed a few people. Ogden is 6 miles from Homer, and 15 from Allerton. It was an F-4, I think, and seriously wiped about half that town out. We're not talking a little damage or anything, but total devastation of homes, trees, and even the huge grain silos. They were crumpled like beer cans! My history teacher lost her house that day, and was on CNN crying. Very sad. The same night, a less strong tornado hit the edge of Urbana, and did some damage. I was "out on the town" with some friends when the sirens went off, but we managed to get back to my dorm basement (only a few miles away) in time to take cover.

I remember also having to get into my school's locker rooms/showers a couple times over my life when there were nearby tornadoes. None ever hit our school though. The good thing about living in a wide open space is that statistically the tornadoes hit open ground a lot!

I have lost track of how many times there were funnel clouds or nasty weather encounters that sent me down to my basement while I was living in IL. It was a lot! I was always very scared of storms, and was always very cognizant of the weather as a child--which my classmates always thought was weird. I'm still really a weather nerd, but have found that where I am now--southern Wisconsin--seems to have much fewer tornadoes.

So....to conclude...YES, Illinois has a big tornado risk, but most residents do not perpetually live in fear of twisters. It's one of those fact of life things that people just grow up with. In my experiences, most people ignore the warnings unless the storms truly are on top of them. I have family members who are super-cavalier about storms, and I'd say that's probably typical. I never was typical, but maybe my "close encounters" bred my paranoia. :-)

The Chicago area recently got hit a couple weeks ago actually, and a lot of people lost power. I don't think the storms that hit Chicago had a tornado in them (although one landed near Bolingbrook), but they were hit by straight-line wind or downbursts that caused some bad damage inside the city limits. A bad tornado could most definitely hurt the city. Hell, did you see all the damage caused in Brooklyn earlier this summer from a twister? It's always weird to see, but they can definitely hit cities.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by sonicreducer

The Chicago area recently got hit a couple weeks ago actually, and a lot of people lost power. I don't think the storms that hit Chicago had a tornado in them (although one landed near Bolingbrook), but they were hit by straight-line wind or downbursts that caused some bad damage inside the city limits.

I was in the middle of a softball game when that thing hit. the sky was BLACK

[2KidsforMe]

Wow, thanks for all of the info. That was exactly what I was looking for.

[mdz]

Please realize that although there have been tornadoes close to Chicao, they are incredibly rare. There's the famous Oak Lawn tornado but that was years and years ago. You'll see the occasional waterspout over Lake Michigan. The farther out to the burbs you go (especially SW, like Bolingbrook and Plainfield (where a nasty one hit about 17 years ago), your chances do increase.

Bottom line--if you're moving to Chicago (or close by the city) I'd worry a heckuva lot more about the property taxes than the tornadoes.

[NYrules]

Here is a video I found a while ago and have posted it in other threads. This isn't a tornado, but this is something that is more common in Chicago. It is a micro-burst.
YouTube - Chicago Storm, Northside

Here is some info on the ever famous Oak Lawn tornado that hit back in 1967. cbs2chicago.com - Oak Lawn Marks 40th Anniversary Of Deadly Tornado (broken link)

Here is some info on another famous tornado that hit in the area and that was the 1990 Plainfield tornado. The Plainfield Tornado The Plainfield tornado was so mysterious and abrupt that NOBODY even got a picture of it. I have tried researching this tornado for a while now and tried to find pictures of it, and have yet to find even a single one. From what I read about the day this tornado hit and I vauguley remember, only a slight risk of severe storms were even predicted that day and there was never a tornado watch or warning issued. This tornado formed rather quick as from what I read, the sky within minutes went from nice and sunny to completely black. Many people reported seeing a wall of dust blowing in out of the corn fields creating a wall like look as this storm swept south. That had to be pretty scary stuff. But in any case, nobody knew what was headed in their direction causing many people to lose their lives.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by mdz

Please realize that although there have been tornadoes close to Chicao, they are incredibly rare. There's the famous Oak Lawn tornado but that was years and years ago. You'll see the occasional waterspout over Lake Michigan. The farther out to the burbs you go (especially SW, like Bolingbrook and Plainfield (where a nasty one hit about 17 years ago), your chances do increase.

Bottom line--if you're moving to Chicago (or close by the city) I'd worry a heckuva lot more about the property taxes than the tornadoes.

Id have to agree. The further south and west you go, your chances get higher. But hey, Ive lived in the area for 30 years (including towns 100 miles west of Chicago) and have never even seen one, nor even a rotation. Sure we get some blasted heavy storms with microbursts every now and then, but there are many other things to worry about other than tornadoes. Ive not had 1 cent worth of damage done to any of my places if that makes you feel any better. The last storm we had was a freak storm, it wasnt even forcasted. A small tornado touched down in the area, didnt last long and didnt do much other than some minor property damage and knock out power to thousands of people. We lost power here at work and reported to the tornado shelter for about 10 minutes. After that, the skies were calm for a few hours, then a second wave of thunderstorms came through and that was it. On the ride home I was wearing sunglasses. I wouldnt worry about tornadoes, even though they can occur. Now if I was living in central KS or OK or TX, that would be another story.