National Weather Service meteorologists have conducted a ground survey covering the most heavily damaged locations of north central Illinois. Based on early findings the tornado that tracked from near Rochelle to near Belvidere…and impacted the community of Fairdale…appears to have been a single long track tornado. Preliminary survey assessment indicates this tornado was an EF-4. An aerial survey will be conducted tomorrow — weather permitting — to confirm a final rating.
At least one satellite tornado associated with this larger tornado was found thus far and there may have been others. An aerial survey will help us ascertain whether there were any additional tornadoes on this day.
...NWS DAMAGE SURVEY FOR 04/09/15 TORNADO EVENT... ...NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS TORNADO PRELIMINARY RATED AN EF-4.. RATING: EF-4 (PRELIMINARY) ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 180-200 MPH PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: TBD PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 0.5 MILE (PRELIMINARY) FATALITIES: 2 INJURIES: 22 START DATE:APRIL 09 2015 START TIME:TBD START LOCATION:TBD END DATE:APRIL 09 2015 END TIME:TBD END LOCATION:TBD .TORNADO... RATING: EF-1 ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 105-110 MPH PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 2.03 MILES PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 50 YARDS FATALITIES: 0 INJURIES: 0 START DATE: APRIL 09 2015 START TIME: TBD START LOCATION: 3.6 MILES S BELVIDERE START LAT/LON: 42.2052/-88.8442 END DATE: APRIL 09 2015 END TIME: TBD END LOCATION: 3.6 MILES SE BELVIDERE END_LAT/LON: 42.2101/-88.8053 THIS TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR FLORA ROAD AND HIT A ZOO WHERE TWO ANIMALS WERE KILLED AND OUTBUILDINGS SUSTAINED HEAVY STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. THE TORNADO CONTINUED EAST ACROSS GENOA ROAD WHERE THREE POWER POLES WERE SNAPPED AND BLOWN OVER. .TORNADO... RATING: EF-0 ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 65 MPH PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 2.83 MILES PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 25 YARDS FATALITIES: 0 INJURIES: 0 START DATE: APRIL 09 2015 START TIME:TBD START LOCATION: 2.9 MILES S CHERRY VALLEY START LAT/LON: 42.1926/-88.9548 END DATE: APRIL 09 2015 END TIME:TBD END LOCATION: 2.5 MILES SE CHERRY VALLEY END_LAT/LON: 42.2174/-88.9106 AN EMERGENCY MANAGER AND TRAINED SPOTTERS PHOTOGRAPHED A TORNADO THAT TOUCHED DOWN SOUTH OF CHERRY VALLEY. THE TORNADO DID NOT PRODUCE ANY DAMAGE. EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES. EF0...WEAK......65 TO 85 MPH EF1...WEAK......86 TO 110 MPH EF2...STRONG....111 TO 135 MPH EF3...STRONG....136 TO 165 MPH EF4...VIOLENT...166 TO 200 MPH EF5...VIOLENT...>200 MPH NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT AND PUBLICATION IN NWS STORM DATA.
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