Dust Storm in Northern Will County, Illinois

A photo showed near zero visibility at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet. A traffic webcam showed near zero visibility along Interstate 55 near Jefferson Street in Shorewood. Visibility between one quarter and one half mile was observed at the National Weather Service office in Romeoville along with a measured wind gust to 54 mph.

An area of thunderstorms moved across east central Illinois during the afternoon of May 16th producing damaging convective wind gusts across southern Ford and southern Iroquois Counties. These high winds created a dust storm that raced north across northeast Illinois during the late afternoon and early evening of May 16th. Visibilities were near zero in many areas with wind gusts of up to 55 to 65 mph. The worst conditions lasted 15 to 30 minutes at any one location and then gradually improved. A large tree was blown down onto a house in Piper City causing significant structural damage. A few thunderstorms also developed across far northern Illinois producing isolated large hail.