EF3 Tornado — La Salle, Illinois

2017-02-28 · near Utica Airpark Arpt, La Salle, Illinois

Event narrative

The first area of significant damage in the EF2 range was in the area around the La Salle County Nursing Home and La Salle County Highway Department, with lighter damage upstream from this location. The tornado continued into Naplate and produced widespread EF2 damage to numerous homes. EF3 damage also was identified in two locations. The first was where a minivan was thrown about 30 yards and a home was lifted off its foundation and left with only its interior walls intact. The second was at the Pilkington Glass plant where one section of the factory was completely destroyed. The tornado then crossed the Illinois River and moved through the south side of Ottawa, producing an 800 yard wide path of EF1 damage to trees and homes. The fatalities in Ottawa occurred from a tree falling onto two men who were working outside. The tornado then crossed the Illinois River again and continued to produce EF1 and EF0 damage as it exited Ottawa, finally dissipating in the area northwest of Marseilles. (Tornado #2 of 7).

Wider weather episode

The late afternoon into the evening of Tuesday, February 28 brought a favorable setup for severe weather, including strong tornadoes across much of the Mid-Mississippi Valley and Lower Great Lakes regions. There were seven tornadoes confirmed in the NWS Chicago county warning area. Large hail was reported in numerous areas.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.3239, -88.9504)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 674614. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.