February made a frigid statement Wednesday after a stormy night across portions of northern Illinois, with thunderstorms, reports of tornadoes and drastic temperature drops.
Before the weather swing Tuesday, people across Chicagoland enjoyed mid-70 degree temperatures registered at both Chicago airports. But by late afternoon, the threat of severe weather woke many from warm weather dreams, a reminder that winter hasn’t completely relinquished its grip.
Thunderstorms with lightning, strong winds and hail made their way across Chicago as temperatures plunged. Jake Petr, a senior meteorologist, said the National Weather Service had verified at least 11 tornado touchdowns from Tuesday’s storms in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, including Cook, Kane, DeKalb and Lee counties.
On Wednesday morning, neighborhoods that suffered storm damage began the arduous chore of cleaning up. In north suburban Mundelein Tuesday night, high winds tore through a two-story apartment building, collapsing part of the roof and damaging 21 units.
Officials from the Mundelein Fire Department said a piece of drywall struck one resident who was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center. The Red Cross was helping find temporary housing for 59 displaced residents.
“We dispatched a team that’s currently at the Mundelein Fire Department with a warming bus. We have some families over there, and we’re setting up a shelter,” said Hank Welch, a deputy response manager with the Red Cross of Illinois.
The Kane County sheriff’s office said the storm uprooted trees, knocked down power lines and caused some damage to buildings in the county. In Geneva, part of Kane County, fire officials reported that eight homes suffered moderate to heavy damage to roofs, along with blown-out windows and downed trees. The storm also knocked down trees and shattered glass on a door at Waubonsee Community College’s campus in Sugar Grove.
Devon Billeter, a resident of the Pepper Valley subdivision in Geneva, is staying with her parents after the storm lifted the roof of her house before slamming it back down again, collapsing part of her ceiling and sending parts of the roof into nearby trees.
She said the worst of the storm came through at around 7 p.m. Tuesday and speculated that it could have been a tornado or a microburst.
“It felt like you were in the middle of an earthquake because the whole house was shaking,” Billeter said on Wednesday morning, standing in her backyard among the debris pulled from her house. “You could hear the swirling. That was strange. It was a different sort of wind.”
The weather service expected temperatures to hit around 28 degrees Wednesday, with wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour. The temperature was forecast to drop to 23 degrees overnight.
Thursday, officials expect temps to reach the mid-40s with wind gusts as high as 25 mph.
Chicago Tribune’s Stacey Wescott contributed.
Damage to homes in Geneva, WCC campus after strong storms hit Chicago area
