Tornado flips bus near Rockford as storms rip through area
An afternoon storm that rolled across the state produced a tornado that flipped a school bus near Rockford, injuring five children and the bus driver.
The full-sized bus with five children onboard was headed home from an elementary school just outside Rockford when it was blown over by a tornado in Caledonia, said Winnebago County Deputy Chief Don Gasparini.
Experts estimate the tornado that touched down approximately 15 miles northeast of Rockford about 3 p.m. was a half-mile wide.
The students and driver were taken to OSF Saint Anthony and Rockford Memorial hospitals to be treated for minor injuries, Bonne said.
“Any injuries that they suffered are minor,” Bonne said, “We had staff go to the hospitals to provide assistance to the families, and they are saying there are no serious injuries.”
The five students were on their way home from Cherry Valley Elementary school, southeast of Rockford, when the bus tipped over into a tree near the intersection of Argyle Road and Harlem Road, Bonne said.
The storms lead the way for a Tuesday cold front with temperatures expected to dip into the upper 20s after Monday recorded highs in the upper 60s.
The National Weather Service reported a second sighting of a grounded tornado in McHenry and in Loves Park in Boone County near Rockford that ripped through the area causing extensive damage.
The confirmed tornado tore through Loves Park, just southwest of Caledonia, destroying one business, multiple homes and garages, a large barn and a grain silo, causing grain to leak into the street.
Funnel clouds were spotted near Harvard in McHenry County, in Elburn and Sugar Grove in Kane County and in Hinckley in DeKalb County shortly after the tornado sightings in Loves Park and Caledonia, according to weather reports.
Heavy rains during the storm resulted in flash flood warnings for all of Cook County until 10 p.m. as more than 2 inches of rain was recorded in some areas within a 45-minute time frame, according to National Weather Service reports.
Winds upward of 50 mph were reported in Aurora, and hail in DeKalb measured more than an inch in diameter.