EF1 tornado, Peotone to Kouts, 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

9:52 PM CDT (02:52 UTC)

Lifted

10:20 PM CDT (03:20 UTC)

On the ground

28 minutes

Path length

29.1 miles (46.8 km)

Path width

300 yards (274 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Counties

Lake, Will and Porter counties

Touchdown point

41.361, -87.559

Lift-off point

41.481, -87.026

Record number

2407152052-01

248 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LOT, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EFU. The highest wind the damage implies is 100 mph.

• Possible damage to large interstate billboard. Pieces of metal cow advertisement next to interstate to east of sign. Previous imagery from this area shows advertisement with metal cow attached to SE side of billboard.
• Numerpus large branches downed. One small branch on a house.
• Numerous large rqnches downed. Flattened corn in field.
• Large branches piled at curb.

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 derecho moved across northwest Indiana during the evening of July 15th producing widespread wind damage and three tornadoes, one of which started in northeast Illinois. One fatality occurred when a large tree limb fell onto a house in Cedar Lake.

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 85 mph touched down near the intersection of Drecksler Road and Kennedy Road where numerous large tree limbs were blown down. The tops of approximately 20 trees were sheared off about a quarter mile south of Kennedy Road. The tornado tracked nearly due east along Kennedy Road producing tree damage until it crossed Egyptian Trail where it turned to the northeast. A collapsed outbuilding and broken windows were observed to two homes near Egyptian Trail. The tornado continued producing tree damage and caused significant roof damage to a house on Will Center Road. The tornado began moving to the east near Crawford Avenue and Corning Road, producing significant tree damage in this area. Shingles were blown off a roof and a chicken coop was destroyed along Corning Road, just west of Western Avenue. The tornado then ended east of Western Avenue.

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 90 mph touched down west of Yates Avenue, southwest of Eagle Lake where several trees and an outbuilding were damaged. The tornado moved northeast and crossed into Lake County in northwest Indiana south of Brunswick Road.

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 90 mph touched down near Eagle Lake in Will County in northeast Illinois and crossed into Lake County just south of 133rd Avenue. Numerous large tree limbs were blown down near 135th Street west of Calumet Avenue. White Oak Avenue was blocked with tree limbs and power lines, just north of 135th Avenue. The tornado crossed Route 41 and produced extensive tree damage along 129th Avenue with some trees snapped. A metal road sign post was rotated 180 degrees. Several homes suffered minor roof and fascia damage. A metal commercial building lost most of its roof. A chimney was blown off of a roof and a free standing garage was partially collapsed. Tree damage continued along and north of 129th Avenue as the tornado turned northeast and crossed Parrish Avenue where trees were uprooted. Tree damage continued as the tornado moved east near Havenwood Pass and then along 124th Avenue after crossing Cline Avenue. The tornado continued moving northeast, crossing Burr Street where a window was blown out of a garage on 122nd Avenue. Numerous shingles were removed from a house on 121st Avenue, just east of Burr Street. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down as the tornado moved through Crown Point, south of Route 231. Utility poles were also damaged. On 120th Avenue, a house suffered significant siding damage and a metal shed was blown several yards. Some homes suffered minor roof and fascia damage near Hyde Park. The tornado crossed Lake Street and jogged to the northeast where some homes suffered minor roof damage and numerous tree limbs and fences were blown down. The tornado crossed Route 231 near 113th Avenue and damaged an industrial building just west of Route 53. Metal roof panels were peeled away, two metal garage doors were blown out, a small section of a wall was blown in and some insulation was found in nearby power lines at least 100 yards away. The tornado crossed Interstate 65 and continued producing tree damage until it crossed into Porter County halfway between 101st Avenue and 93rd Avenue.

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 80 mph touched down southwest of the intersection of Commercial Avenue and Austin Street and moved generally east, just south of Commercial Avenue. Some houses suffered minor roof and fascia damage along Surrey Drive and Longwood Drive. Tree damage also occurred in this area. Tree damage continued south of Oakley Avenue and south of Lincoln Avenue and then the tornado ended near Route 2, just west of Woodland Court.

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 75 mph touched down just southwest of the intersection of Route 55 and 121st Avenue. Tree damage occurred along 121st Avenue and a car was damaged by a fallen tree limb. The tornado crossed Interstate 65, south of 217th Avenue. The tornado produced sporadic tree damage as it moved northeast and crossed the Kankakee River and into Jasper County, east of Stone Road.

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 90 mph touched down near Eagle Lake in Will County in northeast Illinois, moved across Lake County and then crossed into Porter County just north of County Road W 50 N. The tornado produced sporadic tree damage until it crossed Route 30 where trees were uprooted. Once north of Route 30, the tornado produced extensive tree and power line damage in Valparaiso. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped just south of Joliet Road. A house near Jefferson Street and Weston Street was damaged by a tree that fell on it. Multiple large trees were blown down causing damage to houses and vehicles around Napoleon and Chicago Streets. A large tree fell on a house in the 100 block of Washington Street causing structural damage. Tree damage continued north of Chicago Street where a car was damaged by a fallen tree near Erie Street and College Avenue. The tornado turned to the northeast producing sporadic tree damage until it ended near Silhavy Circle, just west of Route 49.

A tornado with estimated peak winds of 75 mph touched down in Lake County, moved across Jasper County, then crossed the Kankakee River and into Porter County just east of Baums Bridge Road. High resolution satellite imagery showed concentrated damage to numerous trees just after crossing the river. The tornado continued for a short time then ended south of Crooked Creek, south of County Road E 1050 S.

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

39 minutes of warning. NWS LOT issued a tornado warning for this county at 02:13 UTC, 39 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), 69 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:53 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.