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 One person was killed and at least seven people were injured in
the tiny town of Fairdale, Illinois, located some 75 miles (120 km)
from Chicago, according to local media, citing emergency officials.
Les Bellah, village president of nearby Kirkland, said that there
was "extensive damage" to Fairdale, which has about 300 people. "I
sent all our equipment there to help - backhoes, generators," said
Bellah.
Damage was also reported in and around Rochelle, Illinois, about 81
miles (130 km) west of Chicago, according to Rochelle Councilman
Bill Hayes. The Red Cross opened a shelter in the town of about
10,000 people, and more than a dozen state agencies were providing
help, according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
"There's some houses that have been completely destroyed," Hayes
said. He saw a tornado touch down while he was driving and raced off
to warn people in its path.
Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle told reporters on Thursday night
that his house, and the home of relatives living nearby, were among
the roughly 20 in Rochelle that were destroyed or significantly
damaged. He said no one was taken to the hospital or reported
missing.
Roads were closed all around the area due to downed power lines,
said Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police
Officer Phillip Wire, who was directing traffic near Rochelle.
Hayes said the popular Grubsteakers Restaurant in Rochelle was hit
by the storm. People were rescued from the basement.
Fred McBride of Rochelle said he was working about half a mile from
his house when the storm hit. He texted his family to "hit the
basement." Everyone in his home was safe, but windows were broken
and a dozen downed trees littered his yard.
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Nearly 900 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport and
Chicago Midway International Airport because of the weather, the
airport said.
Storm spotters reported two tornadoes each in Peoria and Lee,
Illinois, along with twisters in Clinton and Scott, Iowa, according
to the weather service.
The storm brought with it strong winds as well as golf ball- and
baseball-sized hail in the Midwest and Northeast, the weather
service said.
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center is forecasting
a risk of severe thunderstorms Friday afternoon and evening from
southern Texas east along the Gulf Coast and northeast to the
Mid-Atlantic states. Damaging winds and large hail are the main
threats.
(Reporting by Bob Chiarito in Rochelle, Ill., Mary Wisniewski in
Chicago and Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Sandra Maler,
Eric Walsh, Ken Wills and Michael Perry)
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