EF3 tornado in McHenry County, Illinois

A tornado touched down at 330 pm CST about 1.2 miles north of Poplar Grove in Boone County and ended at 348 pm about 3.2 miles north northeast of Harvard in McHenry County. The tornado crossed the Boone McHenry County line near Hunter Road, about 2.1 miles west northwest of Chemung. The tornado crossed Hunter Road into McHenry County and continued to track northeast across Ryan Road as an EF0 and caused mainly minor tree damage. It crossed White Oaks Road then it uprooted a hardwood tree and snapped off pine trees at their base along Maxon Road. This damage continued to be EF0 damage with winds estimated to 80 mph. The tornado intensified as it moved toward the town of Lawrence, where it produced the worst damage in McHenry County. Significant damage occurred in the town of Lawrence, particularly at a house that had more than half of its roof ripped off and garage blown down. The tornado then moved across the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad where it blew 12 railroad freight cars off of the track. The train was moving at the time the tornado hit it, so as the main engine stopped, the remaining cars on the track continued along it and slammed into the front part of the train. This caused a few more cars to derail, including one containing hazardous materials that caused the evacuation of the town of Lawrence. The damage in Lawrence was rated as EF2 with winds up to 110 mph. As the tornado moved east of Lawrence it once again started to weaken with some tree damage and shingles off of a few houses on the northeast side of town. It then ran along Oak Grove Road for a stretch where it produced EF1 damage with a hardwood tree snapped at its base and knocked over an old, weakly structured barn. The tornado headed across farm fields and headed for Highway 14 where it damaged a metal barn and sheared a few trees. As it crossed Highway 14, it flipped a semi-trailer and injured the driver at a truck stop weigh station. It continued across Oak Grove Road where it lifted. The maximum width of the tornado in McHenry County was around 50 yards. One injury was reported in McHenry County.

Severe thunderstorms developed ahead of a strong cold front across northern Illinois during the afternoon hours of January 7th. The storms moved southeast across east central Illinois during the early to mid evening hours.