Illinois, 2001

Tornado in Illinois, August 25, 2001

August 25, 2001 · NWS LOT · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

There were several reports of a funnel cloud from law enforcement officials and spotters. The sightings were from the north side of Plainfield at the Will-Kendall County line near 111th and Route 30, east northeast to near 75th and Route 53 on the east side of Naperville.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.

There were several reports of a funnel cloud from law enforcement officials and spotters. The sightings were from the north side of Plainfield at the Will-Kendall County line near 111th and Route 30, east northeast to near 75th and Route 53 on the east side of Naperville. According to police, the funnel touched down briefly near Route 59 and 95th Street but there was no damage reported.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 25, 1:05 PM CST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 25, 1:05 PM CST, 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
205 PM CDT SAT AUG 25 2001

FIRST MAIN WAVE OF PCPN HAS SWUNG THRU AND NOW IS IN INDIANA. DRY
SLOTTING HAS OPENED UP MOST OF IL TO SUNSHINE WHERE UNSTABLE MOIST
FIELD OPEN TO DIURNAL HEATING. TRIGGER TEMP FROM SOUNDING IN THE
MIDDLE 80S SO DIURNALLY INDUCED STRONG CONVECTION NOT LIKELY IN NRN
IL/NWRN IN.

MOISTURE CONV ZONES HIGHLITE IN 2 AREAS...ONE ALONG BUILDING TSTMS
IN SERN IL AND ALONG FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDING THRU MO FROM SFC LO
IN NERN IA. LOW LVL MOISTURE FEED FROM GULF TERMINATES IN SRN
IL/SWRN IN WHERE BLOWUP IS GOING ON. CENTRAL IL TRAJECTORY BEING
WRAPPED AROUND UPPER LOW AND CUT OFF FROM MAIN MSTR SOURCE. THUS
MAIN PCPN EVENT MAY BE OVER FOR THE AREA. WILL PROBLY GO CATEGORICAL
WITH PERIODS OF SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS AND NO MORE MENTION OF
HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL TONIGHT. SO CHALLENGE THEN WOULD BE ON TIMING
OF PCPN ENDING.

AVN TAKES SFC LO FASTER AND FURTHER NE THAN ETA. NCEP PREFERS TREND
OF ETA OVER AVN AND WILL PROBLY FOLLOW ALONG THOSE LINES. FROPA
OCCURS BFR MIDNIGHT IN NCNTRL IL TO NWRN IN BY 12Z SUNDAY. WILL LV
CHC LINGERING SHWRS SUNDAY MRNG FOR IN AND NEAR NWRN IN. WHILE STILL
REMAINING IN CYCLONIC FLOW SUNDAY...SHOULD BE SLOW TO CLEAR BUT CAA
NOT STRONG SO INSTABILITY SHWRS NO LONGER LOOKS VIABLE.

IN FACT WEAK RIDGE SLIDES SE THRU AREA SUNDAY AND ANOTHER S/W DROPS
OUT OF NRN PLAINS ON MONDAY. WAA CLDNESS WITH WEAK PCPN CHANCE
POSSIBLE ON MONDAY AHEAD OF THIS WAVE. WILL GO FOR PTCLDY TO MOCLDY
FOR NOW AND NOT PUT IN CHC OF RAIN MONDAY ATTM.

BIG HIGH BUILDING OVER LAKES REGION TUESDAY WITH SUNNY SKIES LIKELY
AND INCRSG CLDNESS WED WITH CHC RAIN AGAIN THURSDAY AS FROPA DROPS
DOWN FROM THE UPR MS VLY. TURNING COOLER AND DRIER FOR FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY AS ANOTHER BIG HIGH MOVES INTO THE LAKES AGAIN.

.CHI...NONE.

BRUMER

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 25, 11:15 AM CST, 2 hours 40 minutes before
ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032>033-039-INZ001>002-010>011-019-
261100-

SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
NOON PM CDT/EST SAT AUG 25 2001

FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA.

NO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT.

WAVES OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA AND
THREATEN NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA WITH LOCALIZED
FLOODING FROM FREQUENT HEAVY STORMS. THIS THREAT WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS...DIMINISHING TOWARD
MORNING FOR NORTHWEST INDIANA.

BRUMER

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:59 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 funnel cloud, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Funnel Cloud, Will

When
August 25, 1:55 PM CST to 1:59 PM CST
Where
Will County, Plainfield
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.445, -87.979 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Will

When
August 25, 1:59 PM CST
Where
Will County, Plainfield
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
20 yd
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.600, -88.200

Funnel Cloud, Du Page

When
August 25, 2:00 PM CST to 2:15 PM CST
Where
Du Page County, Naperville
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
41.852, -88.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Illinois in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 2001Warnings in Illinois, August 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5264265, 5264266, 5264267.