High Wind — Mchenry, Illinois

2001-04-07 · Mchenry, Illinois

Wider weather episode

Sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts over 50 mph occurred throughout northern Illinois. Peak gusts reached 59 mph at Waukegan, 58 mph at Rockford, 50 mph at O'hare airport in Chicago, 50 mph at Meigs Field in Chicago, 52 mph at Midway airport in Chicago, 56 mph at Lake Villa, 52 mph in Carpentersville, 54 mph at DuPage Airport in West Chicago, 55 mph at Aurora Airport in Sugar Grove, 53 mph at the NWS office in Romeoville, and 55 mph in Coal City in Will County. Winds damaged tree limbs and power lines throughout the area. As many as 100,000 customers lost power. In Arlington Heights, a snapped power line ignited a gas fire. Power lines dangling over Interstate 294 near Half Day Road, closed the tollway for 3 hours. A shuttle bus stop enclosure at Midway Airport blew over onto 2 parked cars. In Algonquin, a 50 year old woman was killed when a 6 to 10 inch diameter tree limb fell on her car as she was driving on Route 31 around noon. Later in Algonquin, a 5 year old girl was injured when a trampoline blew 25 feet across the yard as she was jumping on it. In Tinley Park a canopy at the convention center collapsed injuring 6 people and damaging a van.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5238884. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.