As a tornado rapidly spun to life in Waukegan, surveillance video captured the moment where a car was lifted into the air like it was a child’s toy.
“It flipped over,” restaurant employee Emmanuel Lopez said. “For a second, I didn’t know what to do. We were all in shock.”
Lopez was working at Waukegan’s La Mexicanita on Tuesday when a tornado blew past the location.
“The car was going one way, then it started lifting up with the wind,” he said.
The driver of the vehicle was okay after the terrifying incident, according to eyewitnesses.
At approximately 6:40 p.m., reports began arriving into the National Weather Service of a tornado in northern Waukegan. After careful examination of damage and footage, the NWS ruled that the tornado, an EF-0 or an EF-1, had touched down and had gone straight into Lake Michigan after a brief touchdown on land.
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The wind gusts scared residents, who were not warned of the tornado due to its rapid development and departure.
“It was so fast, and so sudden, and then it just disappeared,” witness Ian Buffin said.
Fortunately for residents, no one was seriously hurt by the tornado, and everyone involved is counting their blessings.
“I’m surprised no one on the street was hurt,” hardware store employee Jeff Ebert said. “It came out of nowhere. I think it surprised everybody.”
Officials are still working to determine the exact strength of the tornado. An EF-0 tornado packs gusts of 65 to 85 mph, and an EF-1 tornado has gusts of 86-110 mph.
