Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Illinois, August 4 to 5, 2008

A police car and a second car, parked next to each other near Route 26 and Haldane Road, were damaged when a tree fell onto them. Many trees were damaged in Haldane and a large antenna was blown down along Route 26.

Trees as large as two feet in diameter were blown down, some onto houses. Numerous utility poles and power lines were blown down. A phone tower was blown down on the west side of Mount Morris. A grain bin was blown down. Part of a roof was blown off and a building was leveled on the north side of Mount Morris. A barn on Holcomb Road was pushed off it's foundation and destroyed.

Tree limbs as large as eight inches in diameter were blown down.

A large recreational vehicle was destroyed when half of a large tree fell on it near the intersection of Freeport and Milledgeville Roads.

A barn was completely blown off its foundation north of Oregon. A cattle trailer was lifted airborne before landing upside down. At least 50 trees suffered significant wind damage.

A large tree was blown down on Route 38 just east of Route 251. Tree limbs and power lines were blown down across parts of Rochelle. A motorcyclist collided with a tree limb that fell across a road, but no serious injuries were reported.

Large trees and tree limbs were blown down.

A one foot diameter tree was blown down across Route 251.

A gust to 61 mph was measured at Rockford Airport.

A one foot diameter tree was blown down.

Three utility poles were snapped off at their base. A large steel flagpole was bent over. Multiple trees and power lines were blown down.

Wind gusts were estimated to 80 mph. Multiple one foot diameter trees were blown down. Shingles were also blown off of houses.

Three to six inch diameter tree limbs were blown down with numerous power lines blown down on Route 34 between Davis and Main Streets. A restaurant lost part of its roof. Storefront windows in downtown Sandwich were shattered. A car was damaged by a large tree limb.

Wind gusts were measured to 68 mph.

Six inch diameter tree limbs with power lines were blown down near Sandy Bluff and Millhurst Roads.

A dozen trees were damaged near Dummer School.

Four utility poles and ten spans of electrical wire were blown down at the Sandwich Fairgrounds. Several trees suffered minor damage and three large oak trees were blown down.

An airplane was flipped over at the Sandwich Airport.

A large section of a tree was blown down at Dearborn and Harve Streets, which knocked down a utility pole. Tree limbs and power lines were blown down across other areas of Plano.

A large tree was completely snapped off 8 to 10 feet above ground. Power lines were also knocked down.

Numerous trees were blown down.

Wind gusts were estimated to 70 mph on the Northern Illinois University campus.

Sheet metal and insulation were torn off a soap factory by strong winds. Most of the damage was cosmetic, no structual damage was reported.

Wind gusts were estimated to 70 mph in St. Charles. High winds tore portions off the roof at St. Charles North High School. Roof debris, light poles, tree limbs and a crushed portable toilet littered the school grounds. About ten heating, ventilation and cooling units on the roof were either damaged or blown completely off the roof. Damage was also reported inside the school. A 150 year old oak tree was uprooted near Oxmoor Court. The falling tree broke a skylight on a house. Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down across many parts of St. Charles.

A barn caught fire on Bliss Road after a power line was blown down.

A large tree was blown down into a parking lot at the corner of South Fourth Street and Grove Street. Another tree was blown down blocking 10th Street just south of East Lincoln Highway. Numerous tree limbs and power lines were also blown down.

Roof damage was reported to a hanger at Dupage Airport on North Avenue.

A 100 foot tall maple tree fell onto a house on Prairie Street. The tree broke a window and pulled off parts of a gutter.

A one foot diameter tree was blown down into a house. Multiple six to eight inch diameter tree limbs were blown down across Sycamore.

Route 59 at Army Trail Road was closed because of trees that were blown down.

Numerous trees and tree limbs were blown down at a horse farm. Two barns sustained roof damage and a pickup truck was heavily damaged but no horses were injured.

Multiple ten inch diameter trees were blown down near Route 47 and Route 64.

At least ten trees were blown down, some onto homes. One home lost part of its roof and one person was injured.

Tree limbs one foot in diameter were blown down.

Trees 10 to 12 inches in diameter were blown down.

A wind gust to 70 mph was measured at Aurora High School.

Wind gusts were estimated between 60 and 70 mph. Trees and tree limbs were blown down.

A tornado developed about one half mile east of Plainfield Naperville Road and about one block south of Boughton Road. There was a narrow path of more intense damage in a subdivision where several homes had sections of roofing torn off, siding and soffits torn loose, trees snapped and limbs blown down. The most intense damage was on Sparrow Lane, Maroon Bell Lane and Silverado Street. The tornado was rated EF1 at this point. Here one house was likely a total loss due to structural damage to the roof, covered porch, garage and one wall. A garage was destroyed at another home. The tornado weakened to EF0 east of this area from Kings Road to Indian Chase Meadows. There was sporadic damage to trees and limbs and a few homes had damage to shingles, siding and soffits. A small section of roof was removed from a house just east of Indian Chase Meadows. At this point, the tornado appears to have dissipated, but strong straight line winds fanned out.

A brief tornado touched down in an industrial area near Fox Court. It continued east northeast across South Gary Drive and dissipated near Stratford Square Mall. A large warehouse had a wall blown out near Fox Court and Madsen Drive.

Apartment buildings suffered roof damage. Two houses were damaged by fallen trees and one multi-family house had it's roof completely torn off.

A huge willow tree was completely uprooted, with roots standing 10 to 15 feet into the air.

A house was struck by lightning on Prairie Street, sparking a fire in the kitchen. Damage was limited to the stove, a wall, cabinet and a window.

Strong straight line winds fanned out across a one quarter to one half mile wide path through Bolingbrook. Damage began just south of Clow Airport. Fences were blown down and sporadic minor tree damage continued. In an older subdivision with larger more mature trees, there were numerous tree limbs blown down and a few trees snapped or uprooted. But the houses were more sheltered by the larger trees and there was little damage to homes in this area. The strong winds continued east of Veterans Parkway. Small limbs were blown down at Jane Adams School. From the school east southeast to Schmidt Road, a few homes had siding peeled back or soffits damaged. There was sporadic damage to small trees and loose objects such as trampolines. Portable basketball sets were blown over. Winds were likely 60 to 75 mph in this area. East of Schmidt Road, along Remington Road and Frontage Road, damage to tree limbs was very minor. A construction trailer on Frontage Road, east of Woodcreek Drive was destroyed. Winds were estimated to be 85 to 95 mph at this point. South of Interstate 55, a large metal hotel sign was broken and a wooden pole holding a tornado siren was snapped. There was damage to an air conditioning unit on the roof of an industrial building. There was minor damage to trees along Old Chicago Road, east of Route 53 to Joliet Road. Large trees were damaged on Joliet Road. East along Bluff Road from Joliet Road to near Interstate 355, only sporadic minor damage to tree limbs was found with winds around 50 to 60 mph. A softball backstop at the Remington Lakes Sports Complex was damaged extensively.

A large tree was blown down near Plainfield Naperville Road at 111st Street, blocking the road.

A second, brief tornado touched down in Bloomingdale, near an apartment complex on Century Point Lane. There was roof and window damage at two apartment buildings. Significant damage was done to roofs of houses and to trees from Cardinal Drive east across Bloomingdale Road through Norton Lane and into the area around Sterling Drive.

Ten to twelve trees on the north side of Wheaton were damaged. Power lines were also blown down.

Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down.

A wind gust to 65 mph was measured at Boughton and Weber Roads.

Trees were blown down.

A tree was blown down onto a house near Richards and David Roads.

A tree fell onto a house along Army Trail Road. One person was injured.

Trees and power lines were blown down.

Part of the roof of the Manhattan Township Building was peeled back by strong winds. Rain fell through the openings, putting weight on the drywall ceilings, which eventually fell onto township equipment and the Manhattan Food Pantry located on the top level of the building. Much of the damage was caused by the rain.

Trees and power lines were blown down.

Trees and power lines were blown down. Businesses on the northwest corner of Main Street and Roosevelt Road lost part of their roof and part of a gutter.

A tornado touched down along the south side of 135th Street, one block east of LaGrange Road. It moved southeast through the neighborhood along Howe Drive snapping off numerous tree tops, downing three or four large trees, blowing down a fence, sending a gazebo swirling 30 feet into the air before depositing it in a neighbor's yard and damaging a roof on an auto shop along Southwest Highway. A car was also damaged by a falling tree limb. At this point, the weakening tornado was wiped out by a microburst as it crossed the railroad trucks just east of Southwest Highway about a quarter mile south of 135th Street.

Numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down across Earlville. Wind damage was also reported to fences and store signs.

A 12 inch diameter tree was blown down on 5th Avenue.

Numerous trees were blown down on Mannheim Road between Belmont and Addison Roads.

Five trees were blown down.

Trees and power lines were blown down near Jefferson and Marion Roads.

A microburst began near the railroad tracks just east of Southwest Highway about one quarter mile south of 135th Street. The microburst widened, causing a damage path one quarter mile wide and about one third mile long. The microburst blew down numerous trees in the area of Carolina Lane, 92nd Avenue, Elm Street, and 137th and 138th Streets. Trees fell on rooftops, shingles were blown off a shed, there was damage to eaves of homes and there was porch and eave damage due to falling trees and tree limbs. Power lines were also downed due to falling tree limbs.

Tree limbs and power lines were blown down across parts of LaGrange.

Trees and power lines were blown down in the Valley View area.

A car was destroyed by a falling tree on 74th Avenue. Two houses suffered minor damage from falling tree limbs.

Trees, tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Berwyn. Some of the tree limbs fell onto cars.

As many as 50 large tree limbs were blown down along with power lines in Oak Park. A couple entire trees were also blown down.

A wind gust to 59 mph was measured at Midway Airport.

A wind gust to 70 mph was measured along Route 31, just north of Mooseheart Road.

Six inch diameter oak trees were blown down.

A large tree was blown down onto a car, crushing the roof of the car.

A large tree limb fell onto a parked car. Power lines were also blown down.

Six trees, 18 to 24 inches in diameter, were snapped off near 147th and Cicero Avenue.

A big tree was blown down onto a house on North Mulligan.

A tree was blown down on a house on North Major.

Hundreds of tree limbs were blown down across Homewood. Most of the damage occurred on the northeast side of Homewood, particularly along Ridge Road between Riegel Road and Halsted Street. Two Japanese elm trees were blown down onto a fence, just missing a house. Another tree was blown down on two vehicles.

Wind gusts were estimated to 70 mph near 167th Street and Cicero Avenue.

Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph near 147th Street and Cicero Avenue.

Trees were blown down.

A wind gust was measured to 68 mph with small tree limbs blown down.

Ten to fifteen inch diameter trees were blown down.

Street flooding was reported near Harlem and 171st Street.

Quarter size hail was reported near Army Trail and County Farm Roads.

Eight to ten inch diameter trees were blown down on 21st Street, two blocks north of Roosevelt.

A 20 inch diameter tree was blown down near Washington Street and Naper Boulevard.

The intersection of Huntley Road and Route 31 was closed due to flooding.

A six inch diameter tree limb was blown down on Route 394, a half mile north of Glenwood Dyer Road.

Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph.

The roof of a storage building collapsed on Mondamin Street.

Trees and power lines were blown down.

A wind gust was measured to 65 mph.

A semi truck was blown over near Manhattan Road.

Five to seven inches of standing water was reported near Caton Farm Road and Route 30.

Extensive wind damage occurred across southern parts of the City of Kankakee. The damage began along West Jeffery Street and extended east of the Cobb Park area. Many roads were impassable across these locations due to downed trees. Several very large trees were uprooted and power lines were blown down. One very large tree landed on the roof of a home across the western portion of the main area of damage. About two dozen of the city's oldest trees in Cobb Park were damaged. A car was crushed and destroyed by a falling tree on South Wildwood Avenue. A tree limb was thrown through the windshield of a second car and a third car was damaged on South Greenwood Avenue. Wind gusts were estimated between 80 and 100 mph.

Nickel size hail was reported near Milwaukee Avenue and Inverrary Roads.

Standing water at Harlem Avenue and 171st Street was reported to be three and a half feet deep.

Nickel size hail was reported across much of Palatine, including at the intersections of Dundee Road and Route 53 and Dundee Road and Route 83.

Yard flooding was reported with two inches of rain.

Standing water one foot deep was reported in yards. Water was also reported covering some roads.

Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph.