Two tornadoes touched down in the Chicago area Saturday during storms that pummeled the region, resulting in power outages and causing widespread flooding, according to the National Weather Service.
One tornado, an EF-0, occurred in Crete in the afternoon hours, with estimated peak winds of 70 miles per hour. A second EF-0 tornado, with estimated peak winds of 75 miles per hour, was reported in Dyer and Schererville, Indiana.
Bob Waszak, a storm chaser, captured a photo of a funnel cloud in Crete as a tornado warning was issued for the surrounding area. That afternoon the NWS said it received several spotter reports of a rotating funnel cloud near the city, explaining photos shared on social media showed a funnel two-thirds of the way to the ground.
The majority of damage from both tornadoes was contained to downed trees, the NWS said.
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Chatsworth, a town in Livingston County, also saw an EF-0 tornado Saturday that brought wind speeds of up to 80 miles per hour. Damage included a blown out garage door, displaced playground equipment, several downed tree branches and a parked camper that was blown over. On Friday, a tornado touched near Danforth in Iroquois County, causing damage to trees, houses and a grain silo. That tornado had estimated wind speeds of 95 miles per hour, forecasters stated.
Just days earlier, an EF-3 tornado, packing wind speeds of up to 140 miles per hour, touched down in west suburban Naperville and Woodridge, resulting in more than a dozen injuries and hundreds of damaged homes.
