Mother Nature ravaged Northern Illinois on Monday, with multiple tornadoes and severe thunderstorms damaging to homes, taking down trees and power lines, and destroying other property.
The National Weather Service says at least five tornadoes touched down in the region, in Will, Kankakee, Lee, Grundy, and LaSalle counties. The two strongest tornadoes were rated EF-2, which is considered strong with winds from 111-135 mph. One of the EF-2’s left a ¾ mile-long damage path from Coal City to Braidwood, with the other on the ground for a ½ mile from Woodhaven Lakes to just South of Sublette.
Governor Bruce Rauner issued a state disaster proclamation for Lee and Grundy counties to make available a wide variety of state resources that can help affected communities respond and recover from the storms. The Governor also directed the deployment of Illinois Task Force 1, an 80-member search and rescue team, to assist local responders with search and rescue efforts.