40th Anniversary of Northern Illinois Worst Tornado Disaster

[Danny Neal]

This saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the April 21, 1967 tornado outbreak across the Upper Great Lakes and Upper MS River Valley

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/Image/lot/severe/21Apr1967_tornado.pdf

NWS LOT gives a great presentation/commemorative effort to bring that day back and show detailed maps, a detailed account on the tornadoes of that day and a look back at synoptic features of the day.


This event is significant to me in more ways than one. Nevermind that it occured 20 years and 2 1/2 months before I was born. The tornado hit 300 yards to the north of where I am currently typing this up. My grandparents and dad were just about to go to a pizza place (92nd and Cicero) squarely in the path of the Oak Lawn F4 and if they were caught in traffic during that.....who knows I may not be here today telling you about it. I find it facinating that such a briefly violent tornado has hit the town where every day I hear, "storms coming? bahh it'll just blow over." Tsk Tsk Tsk how soon we forget........

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

I also have loose ties to this outbreak. My mom was in high school then and recalls seeing the dark, green sky in Rockford, IL. A Belvidere HS was hit by a tornado as they were dismissing students causing many casualties.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/?n=Belvidere_tornado_67

 

[Jim Zandonai]

The local paper really has some fantastic stuff on the 1967 Belvidere IL. Tornado. Here are some links..

http://www.rrstar.com/flash/tornado/index.html


http://rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/TORNADO/399990007


Anyone in the Chicago area may want to check out the 2007 Tornado/Severe weather seminar at the fermilab in Batavia too..On SAT Apr 21st

 

[Dan Cook]

Both my parents were almost killed during the Oak Lawn tornado; my dad was caught in traffic and my mom was caught outside at a public pool trying to get home.