EF0 tornado in Boone County, Illinois

This was a satellite tornado that formed from the same storm that formed the long tracked EF-4 tornado. A small zoo was heavily damaged with walls collapsed on several outbuildings and small barns. Three animals were killed. Softwood trees 4 to 6 inches in diameter were snapped. The estimated peak wind was 85 mph. (Tornado 5 of 7).

Seven tornadoes were confirmed in north central Illinois in the NWS Chicago CWA. Six of the tornadoes formed from a single supercell. The atmosphere was ripe for severe weather due to highly anomalous moisture and instability for early April across the region. A strong low pressure system advanced into this favorable air mass. Combined with robust wind shear, this helped to trigger these potent storms. A long tracked violent tornado destroyed numerous homes and farmsteads along its path across north central Lee, eastern Ogle, northwest Dekalb, and southern Boone counties. This path included the far northwest side of Rochelle, Interstate-39, and a direct hit in the community of Fairdale where two fatalities occurred. This was the strongest tornado in the NWS Chicago CWA since the F5 tornado that struck Plainfield, IL on August 28th, 1990.