May 18, 1997, Tornado and Straight-Line Winds

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Summary
Tornadoes / Straight-Line Winds
Radar
Environment
Additional Information

Summary

During the evening of May 18, 1997, a complex of thunderstorms moved through northeast Illinois, leading to one tornado and several reports of straight-line wind damage.

The tornado touched down near Lindenhurst and moved toward the east-southeast, lifting near Gurnee.

Widespread straight-line wind damage occurred across portions of Kane, Kendall, DuPage, Will, and Cook counties in Illinois, and Lake and Porter counties in Indiana. Damage occurred to numerous farm buildings and the roofs of numerous residences and businesses. A semi-trailer was toppled, and several tree limbs and power lines were also downed. Peak measured winds reached 73 mph at the DuPage County Airport, and one injury occurred.

Tornadoes / Straight-Line Winds

Lindenhurst-Gurnee F2 Tornado

Map showing Lindenhurst-Gurnee tornado track

Summary:

A tornado touched down on the southeast side of Lindenhurst and damaged trees and the roofs of several homes. The tornado reached F2 intensity near Sand Lake Road and Route 45, where two barns were destroyed, two-foot diameter oak trees were snapped or uprooted, and the roof was taken off a nursery. Signs were blown down along Sand Lake Road and Stearns School Road. A subdivision on the north side of Gurnee had damage to trees, a chimney blown off a house, windows broken, walls damaged, a garage door blown in, and a fence blown down. Three-quarter inch hail also occurred in Lindenhurst.

This tornado had a path length of approximately 6 miles and a maximum width of 75 yards. The tornado began at 7:18 PM CDT and ended at 7:23 PM CDT.

Straight-Line Winds

Map showing areas of straight line winds

Summary:

Widespread straight-line wind damage occurred as the complex of storms that produced the Lindenhurst-Gurnee tornado moved to the southeast. Damage occurred to numerous farm buildings and the roofs of numerous residences and businesses. A semi-trailer was toppled, and several tree limbs and power lines were also downed.

The peak recorded wind gust was 73 mph at the DuPage County Airport. One injury occurred at a hotel near I-88 and Naperville Road, where a person was injured by flying glass.

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Radar

Multiple areas of strong straight-line winds and rotation were picked up by radar. The radar images below show the reflectivity and velocity sampled by the KLOT radar at about the time that the Lindenhurst-Gurnee tornado began.

0.5 degree base reflectivity at 7:07 PM CDT

0.5 degree storm-relative velocity at 7:07 PM CDT

Environment

The below hodograph derived from the NWS Chicago/KLOT radar indicated increasing wind speeds and changing wind speeds with height, a favorable condition for strong thunderstorms.

Derived hodograph from NWS Chicago radar at 7:07 PM CDT.

Additional Information

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