TornadoLookup

Home / Illinois / Will

EF2 tornado in Will County, Illinois

Tornado June 7, 2008 · Will County, Illinois

EF2
Rating
14.5 mi
Whole path
200 yd
Path width
$500K
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Kankakee County → Will County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A tornado touched down in far northwest Kankakee County then crossed County Line Road into Will County north of Essex. Tree tops were sheared off at Essex and Cooper Roads. A clear path could be seen in the trees at McGuire Road. At Route 113 and Smiley Road near Custer Park, trees were snapped and uprooted. Across the Kankakee River, a two story house had its roof completely removed and there was extensive tree damage. The tornado reached EF2 intensity at this point. The tornado continued across Route 102 near Ritchie where trees were damaged. The tornado crossed old Chicago Road near Kahler Road where power lines were blown down, a shed and barn were damaged and there was minor damage to a house. Another shed was destroyed. The tornado weakened as it moved from Symerton and Kennedy Roads to Warner Bridge and Arsenal Roads. There was no damage except to one tree. There was minor damage to a barn and tree limbs north of Arsenal Road before the tornado dissipated.

The wider storm

A single supercell thunderstorm developed over western Illinois and moved northeast reaching Lake Michigan near the Illinois Indiana state line several hours later. This single thunderstorm produced eight different tornadoes as it moved east across Illinois.

Began near Godley (41.2026, -88.2007).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

6 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 105506. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.