11 tornadoes hit the region Tuesday, weather service confirms
At least 11 tornadoes touched down in the Chicago region during Tuesday night’s severe thunderstorms, likely contributing to the damaged buildings, fallen trees and general mayhem that greeted many suburbanites as they ventured from their homes the following day.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service on Wednesday confirmed the 11 tornadoes. They included EF-1 tornadoes that struck Inverness, Mundelein, Geneva, Batavia and Sugar Grove; and lesser EF-0 tornadoes in Hoffman Estates, South Barrington, Elburn and Campton Hills.
Mundelein, Hoffman Estates, Palatine and South Barrington were among the suburbs with the most significant damage.
Large hail was reported in the region, too, especially along the I-88 and I-80 corridors through the West and Southwest suburbs.
Fortunately, reports of injuries were rare and not severe.
In Mundelein, 59 people were forced to flee an apartment building at 32 Washington Blvd. after wind tore a hole in the roof and part of the facade collapsed. Twenty-one units were declared uninhabitable.
One resident was taken to a hospital with arm pain after being struck by falling drywall, according to a fire department news release.
A window in the lobby of an adjacent building was broken, too, Mundelein Fire Chief Bill Lark said. No other structures in the neighborhood were damaged.
In Hoffman Estates, siding was torn off resident Jessica Hernandez-Ramirez’s house on Elsie Lane. She and her family and their two dogs took shelter in the basement after tornado alerts began blaring on their cellphones.
“I’ve lived in Illinois my whole life and definitely never heard a storm so loudly (from) the basement before,” Hernandez-Ramirez said.
Hernandez-Ramirez said other houses in her Bergman Pointe neighborhood were damaged. “A neighbor is missing (part of the) roof,” she said. “Many homes (are) missing siding.”
Hoffman Estates residents can report storm damage online at tinyurl.com/52r6evcr. Additionally, people should move fallen branches to parkways by 7 a.m. Monday so public works crews can remove them starting later that day, the village announced.
Elsewhere in the village, a pair of pine trees, each between 15 feet and 18 feet tall, were uprooted and landed on a basketball court at Charlemagne Park, 3799 Bordeaux Drive, said Craig Talsma, the Hoffman Estates Park District’s executive director. Other trees came down there and at other parks, too.
Additionally, a large digital sign at the Willow Recreation Center, 3600 Lexington Drive in Hoffman Estates, was badly damaged.
Trees and power lines were felled Tuesday night in Palatine, occasionally causing fires when one came in contact with the other — as happened near Wilke Road and Ravinia Circle, the Palatine Fire Department said. Additionally, sparking transformers were reported on the 1100 block of Smith Street and at the Palatine police station, 595 N. Hicks Road.
Elsewhere, the storm knocked down trees near South Barrington’s village hall, 30 S. Barrington Road. The roof and siding of the South Barrington Club at 3 Tennis Club Lane also were damaged, as were fencing, a car and heating-and-cooling equipment, said Jay Morgan, executive director of the South Barrington Park District.
“We had some very high winds for sure,” Morgan said. Despite the damage, the facility was open for business Wednesday.
Trees came down at Waubonsee Community College’s Sugar Grove campus, too. Wednesday’s campus operations weren’t affected, according to the school.
The National Weather Service was expected to release data about the storms and possible tornadoes late Wednesday afternoon on its website and social media pages.
· Daily Herald staff writers Steve Zalusky and Paul Valade contributed to this report.