EF1 tornado, Matteson to Englewood, Illinois, July 15, 2024

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. EF2111 to 135 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. EF3136 to 165 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. EF5over 200 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

EF1

Date

July 15, 2024

Touchdown

9:43 PM CDT (02:43 UTC)

Lifted

9:49 PM CDT (02:49 UTC)

On the ground

6 minutes

Path length

5.5 miles (8.8 km)

Path width

250 yards (229 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Cook County

Touchdown point

41.538, -87.694

Lift-off point

41.579, -87.606

Record number

2407152043-01

229 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LOT, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 90 mph.

• North side of track about 300 ft north of 69th street
• A number of large branches and uprooted trees. Circulation went out over the lake
• Snapchat map video driving on S. Cicero Ave. near Ford city Mall with powerlines down across IL – 50
• Digital mobile road sign blown over to the east.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

A derecho moved across northern Illinois during the evening of July 15th producing widespread wind damage and 30 tornadoes in northeast Illinois. One of these tornadoes crossed into northwest Indiana. At the height of the storms, 430,000 customers lost power with some power not restored for four days, on July 19th.

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 130 mph touched down in Grundy County, moved northeast across Will County and crossed Harlem Avenue and into Cook County between Route 30 and Old Plank Road. The tornado had weakened as it moved into Cook County but still produced tree damage along its path, crossing Route 30, then crossing Interstate 57 and ending near Matteson Avenue just west of Cicero Avenue.

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 85 mph touched down near Harlem Avenue and 135th Street and moved nearly due east, paralleling 135th Street. Numerous tree limbs were blown down along trails in a forest preserve south of 135th Street. Significant tree damage occurred near 135th Street and Central Avenue. Minor roof damage to a home and a large uprooted tree occurred near Laramie Avenue. Tree damage occurred during the rest of the path of the tornado, which crossed Interstate 294 and then ended near Mozart Street and 135th Street.

A brief tornado with estimated peak winds of 85 mph touched down just north of 159th Street near Rob Roy Drive. In addition to tree damage, minor roof and fascia damage occurred to some homes, primarily confined to areas along Brookwood and Arroyo Drives. One home just west of Arroyo Drive suffered damage to siding, gutters, a vinyl fence and a broken window. The tornado ended near Terrace Drive and 158th Place.

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 100 mph touched down near Kedzie Avenue and 194th Street. Extensive tree damage occurred near Hawthorne Lane including large trees snapped and other trees uprooted. The tornado began moving northeast, crossing Flossmoor Road with more trees uprooted and snapped near Hagen Lane. Trees were snapped south of Willow Road and some homes suffered minor roof damage as well as had windows blown out. Tree damage continued along the path and then the tornado partially ripped off the roof to the Thornton Recreation Center on Laura Lane. Trees were snapped and utility poles were blown down in this area along with a large tree limb that fell onto a house. The tornado ended near Interstate 294 and Chicago Road.

A brief tornado with estimated peak winds of 80 mph touched down near 169th Street and Crawford Avenue. The tornado produced tree damage along its path, which brought down power lines. A large pine tree was uprooted on Briargate Drive, which fell onto a house. The tornado ended just after this location, just south of 167th Street.

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 90 mph touched down in the southwest side of Marquette Park, where several willow trees were snapped near their bases. A concentrated corridor of tree damage continued northeast across the park and golf course. The tornado was likely at peak intensity as it moved through the park. Significant tree damage occurred near 66th Street and Artesian Street where residential streets were blocked due to numerous tree limbs and trees down. At least one light pole was broken. The tornado turned to the east and produced mainly tree damage when it crossed William Ogden Park, where some healthy trees were snapped. The tornado ended just northeast of the park, near May Street and 64th Street.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

30 minutes of warning. NWS LOT issued a tornado warning for this county at 02:13 UTC, 30 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 03:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 23:53 UTC and running to 03:20 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:47 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 36 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:40 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in IllinoisEvery tornado in Illinois since 1950Warnings in force in Illinois nowThe forecast where you are

61 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

All 62 of them

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.