High Wind, McHenry
- When
- October 25, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- McHenry forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 42.324, -88.452 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Illinois, October 25, 2001
A strong low pressure moved northeast across the Great Lakes region late on October 24th and early October 25th resulting in a strong pressure gradient across northern Illinois. Several trees, power lines, and utility poles were blown down.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 3
- Property damage
- $75,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 8
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.
A strong low pressure moved northeast across the Great Lakes region late on October 24th and early October 25th resulting in a strong pressure gradient across northern Illinois. Several trees, power lines, and utility poles were blown down. Trees and power lines were blown down across all of Dupage and Cook counties, including the city of Chicago. A wind gust to 59 mph was recorded at Midway Airport in Chicago. A wall of cinder blocks was blown over injuring two construction workers in Lincolnwood in Cook county. Another brick wall was blown over in Buffalo Grove in Lake county where four cars were heavily damaged. A steelworker was blown off an I-beam and suffered minor injuries at a construction site in South Elgin in Kane county. A utility pole was snapped in Crest Hill in Will county. Trees and powerlines were blown down in Geneva in Kane county, Dixon in Lee county, and Rockford in Winnebago county. A large tree fell on a house in Algonquin in McHenry county damaging the roof. An estimated 30,000 customers lost power.
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 Oct 25, 2:20 AM CST, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 25, 2:20 AM CST, 3 hours 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
320 AM CDT THU OCT 25 2001
VERY STRONG WINDS ARE THE FOCUS THIS FORECAST CYCLE. 07Z SURFACE
ANALYSIS PUTS THE LOW SOMEWHERE JUST NORTH OF LAKE SUPERIOR AT
SOMETHING LESS THAN 980 MB...BASED ON CANADIAN OBS JUST NORTH OF THE
LOW CENTER. MODELS CONSISTENT IN CONTINUING TO DEEPEN THE SURFACE
LOW TODAY...WITH THE 06Z RUC AND THE ETA THE MOST AGGRESSIVE IN
DOING SO. IN ADDITION...HIGH PRESSURE ROLLING OFF THE CENTRAL PLAINS
WILL CONTRIBUTE TO ADDITIONAL TIGHTENING OF THE GRADIENT. WITH
STRONG WINDS AT ALL LEVELS...SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 45 MPH ARE
LIKELY ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TODAY...WITH GUSTS OF 60 MPH OR MORE
NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION. AS A RESULT...A HIGH WIND WARNING WILL BE
POSTED FOR THE ENTIRE CWFA FOR TODAY.
WL MENTION POSSIBLE SPRINKLES/FLURRIES TODAY DUE TO CAA AND LOW
LEVEL INSTABILITY...BUT MEASURABLE PRECIP QUESTIONABLE THIS FAR
SOUTH.
WINDS WILL REMAIN STRONG THROUGH FRIDAY AS SURFACE LOW
WOBBLES...THEN SKIES TO CLEAR LATE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AS THE
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE FINALLY IS ALLOWED TO SEEP INTO THE REGION.
WITH WEAK RIDGING THE FIRST PART OF THE WEEK...A GRADUAL WARMUP IS
EXPECTED...AND THIS IS HANDLED NICELY IN GOING EXTENDED FCST.
.CHI...STORM WARNING LKMICH.
...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR ENTIRE CWA TODAY.
JHVIn the hours before
Special weather statement, Oct 25, 4:58 AM CST, 1 hour 2 minutes before
ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032>033-039-INZ001>002-010>011-019- 261100- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL 600 AM CDT/EST THU OCT 25 2001 FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA... THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF DAMAGING WINDS OVER THE OUTLOOK AREA TODAY. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR THE ENTIRE OUTLOOK AREA. IN THE WAKE OF THE SYSTEM THAT BROUGHT SEVERE WEATHER TO PARTS OF THE AREA WEDNESDAY...VERY STRONG WINDS WILL SURGE INTO THE REGION TODAY. WINDS OF 30 TO 45 MPH...WITH GUSTS POSSIBLY AS HIGH AS 60 MPH...ARE EXPECTED. THE TIME OF THE STRONGEST WINDS LOOKS TO BE LATE MORNING THROUGH MID AFTERNOON...BUT WINDS WILL BE QUITE STRONG ALL DAY AND INTO THE EVENING. HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES AND EXPOSED LOCATIONS ARE PARTICULARLY ADVISED TO TAKE EXTRA CAUTION TODAY. JHV
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Lee
- When
- October 25, 6:56 AM CST
- Where
- Lee forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Reported by
- UTILITY COMPANY
- Coordinates
- 41.746, -89.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Will
- When
- October 25, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Will forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Reported by
- NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
High Wind, Winnebago
- When
- October 25, 9:00 AM CST
- Where
- Winnebago forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 42.336, -89.161 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Du Page
- When
- October 25, 10:00 AM CST
- Where
- Du Page forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 41.852, -88.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Kane
- When
- October 25, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Kane forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 41.939, -88.429 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Lake
- When
- October 25, 12:30 PM CST
- Where
- Lake forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Property damage
- $15,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 42.349, -87.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Cook
- When
- October 25, 2:47 PM CST
- Where
- Cook forecast zone
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph)
- Injuries
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in Ohio, October 25 to 26, 2001
- High Wind in New York, October 25, 2001
- Tornado in Florida, October 25, 2001
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, October 25, 2001
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, October 25, 2001
- High Wind in Pennsylvania, October 25 to 26, 2001
- High Wind in New York, October 25, 2001
- Winter Storm and Strong Wind in Wisconsin, October 25 to 26, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, October 25, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, October 25, 2001
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, October 25, 2001
- Strong Wind in Illinois, October 25, 2001
More
Every storm in Illinois in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, October 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: 5270768, 5270767, 5270762, 5270769, 5270763, 5270766, 5270765, 5270764.