Burlington-area residents get to basement just in time as tornado hits

Jimmy Darnell saw a tornado heading his way early Monday evening.

He guessed it was about two miles to the west of his Plank Road home in Burlington. He had just enough time to get his family to safety in the basement.

"As soon as we hit the bottom stairs down there the tornado hit," Darnell said. "Lights shut off, you heard banging, the house was shaking.

"We waited about five minutes until everything calmed down and came up to assess the damage and let the family know it was OK."

The Darnells lost a shed and multiple trees. The storm also smashed a window of the family car.

Some six homes were damaged along Plank Road about two miles west of downtown Burlington. The damage stretched about a half a mile, east and west of the Plank Road and Engle Road intersection.

The winds blew roofs off homes and barns, snapped trees in half and scattered debris across on the nearby fields.

ComEd workers were on the scene to restore power. As of 8:36 p.m. Monday, 814 customers in northeastern Illinois were without power, according to ComEd's website.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

A tornado was seen by weather spotters at 5:32 p.m. about seven miles northeast of Rochelle in Ogle County. About four minutes earlier, radar confirmed a tornado near Hampshire in Kane County, according to the National Weather Service website.

Heat advisories also are in effect until Tuesday night across north-central Illinois, northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, the weather service said.

Heat indexes of 102-108 degrees Fahrenheit were expected, with the highest to south and west of Chicago.

•The Associated Press contributed to this report.