Meteorologists: Yes, it was a tornado that hit Bloomingdale

The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Bloomingdale last night, causing damage that stretched from one end of the village to the other.

Survey crews said the tornado was at least an F1 in intensity but have yet to make full report on the damage. That's expected by 6 p.m.

One building in an industrial park northwest of Gary Avenue and Army Trail Road partially collapsed while a 10-ton air conditioner from a nearby rooftop sat in the parking lot.

Al Izzo said the air conditioners atop his building, in the same row of businesses along Fox Court, were tossed around like children's toys.

The meteorologist on site told Izzo he didn't know yet whether a microburst or tornado was responsible.

"He said the winds were between 88 and 120 miles per hour to have done the damage we've seen," said Izzo, general manager of Dalmec, which had significant roof damage.

The most seriously damaged business, Ixmation Cox Systems, was closed for the day after one wall collapsed, another was partially collapsed and a portion of the roof caved in, fire officials said.

Down the street, the former Mary Kay Cosmetics business, now under renovation, suffered heavy damage when the garage doors blew off.

Fire officials said the line of damage stretched across the entire village, basically running just north of Army Trail Road, though the most significant structural damage was in the industrial court. The windows in one vacant building in the 200 block of Gary Avenue were blown entirely out, they said.

There was heavy tree damage reported northeast and northwest of the intersection of Army Trail and Bloomingdale roads.

Glen Ellyn police said 2,900 residents remained without power late Tuesday morning, and public works crews were trying to remove uprooted trees and fallen limbs.