11 Chicago area tornado touchdowns confirmed, including at O'Hare, as residents clean up
A pair of tornadoes tore through Elgin Wednesday, and residents continue to clean up from the damage.
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Eleven tornadoes touched down in parts of the Chicago area Wednesday, as residents continue to clean up the damage.
The tornadoes confirmed by the National Weather Service occurred in:
1. Burr Ridge to Stickney: EF 1
2. Elgin: EF-1
3. Huntley: EF-1
4. Elgin: EF-0
5. Oswego: EF-0
6. Barrington: EF-0
7. Long Grove: EF-0
8. Carol Stream to Glendale Heights: EF-0
9. Itasca to O'Hare: EF-0
10. O'Hare to Des Plaines: EF-0
11. Streamwood: EF-0
In Elgin, homes are surrounded by mounds of branches and debris left behind after the pair of tornados, with winds up to 100 miles per hour that tore through the northwest suburb Wednesday.
"It was more life a tornado mixed with an earthquake kind of because the house was shaking and it was just scary," Emma Ramirez, whose home was damaged, said.
Chopper 7HD captured the path of the tornadoes, which left a visible scar on the area.
The NWS said the Elgin tornado was an EF-1 with maximum wind speed of 100 mph and a track roughly started east of Rt. 47 and ended near the railroad tracks west of Villa Olivia Golf Course.
A second tornado in Elgin, an EF-0, began close to McDonald Road and ended along Hopps Road.
Thursday afternoon, Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain spoke with members of the Del Webb community, where at least 20 homes were hit, with some now uninhabitable.
"We want to get people back in their homes as quickly as possible," Mayor Kaptain said. "If your home is going to need to be repaired and fixed, we will help you."
Neighbors will spend the weekend clearing out the debris, while some of them are still waiting to assess the structural integrity of their homes
Source: WLS-TV
