F3 Tornado — Carroll, Illinois

1995-05-09 · near Albany, Carroll, Illinois

Event narrative

The heaviest damage was in the Twin Oaks area which is five miles east of Fulton. Four homes were destroyed and six homes had major damage. Thirty-six farm buildings were damaged or destroyed on the 15 or 16 farm sites that were hit. Fields and ditches along U.S. 30 looked like a battle zone with twisted metal sticking from the ground. Gary Engelkens survived the tornado inside his mobile home. "I saw it coming, and I thought this was it," he said. He hid under a day-bed when the walls started flying and the bed started shaking. He leaped into the bathroom and then realized there was no roof anymore. "My ears popped and the pressure went up and then pandemonium," he said. The Gary Dykstra farm site, east of Fulton, had nearly all farm buildings destroyed. Gary and his wife were halfway down the basement steps when the tornado hit. The clock stopped at 1825 CDT. Mrs. Dykstra said it got blacker than coal before the tornado struck. Mr. Dykstra said thirty years of work was wiped out and he will not go back into the cattle business. The Jeff Holeginger home on Fenton Road near Fulton was also hit hard. Holesinger saw the tornado moments before it reached his home. Mr. Holeginger said it sounded like a great big freight train going right over the top. The whole house was picked up and dropped down again. Frank George, who farms at the Twin Oaks curve south of Route 30, was in his barn feeding the hogs when the tornado threw the barn across the road. He was not injured. The tornado produced minor damage and emptied itself of debris as it lifted across central Carroll County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 10320609. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.