8/23/07 NOW: IL/IA/NE/WI/MI/IN/OH/KS/MO

[David Draun]

Wow, I'm surprised nobody is talking about this one, lol. SVRs and TORs rapidly being issued in northern IL ahead of a damaging wind producing diurnal MCS. Looks like it is still intensifying as it is drawing in 75+ dewpoint air and 3000 SBCAPE. Unidirectional windspeed shear will make this thing capable of doing 70+ mph wind damage. I'm definitely agreeing with the MDT out for much of northern IL. Embedded circulation on a storm near Dekalb that had a brief TVS on it has prompted a tornado warning for Dekalb and Kane. Look out Chicago Metro!

 

[David Draun]

Now there is a 73kt TVS signature approaching central Dupage! O'hare is probably in the path of this as well. The storms are capable of producing 80+ mph gusts now. Skies are extremely dark over me, but it looks like I will be just missed to the south, as usual.

 

[Dan Cook]

Sirens are wailing here probably because of this:


THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING
SITUATION. THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE TORNADO LIKE
WINDS! FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST
FLOOR OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO
CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY AND SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO PROPERTY.

I just had to talk to my mom's boss not to let the kids out of the school where she works.

 

[Michael Rogers]

Now there is a 73kt TVS signature approaching central Dupage! O'hare is probably in the path of this as well. The storms are capable of producing 80+ mph gusts now. Skies are extremely dark over me, but it looks like I will be just missed to the south, as usual.

Yup, I'm sitting here in Lake Forest, Illinois and it's passing just to my south. Pretty dark and looks like a good light show. It looks like this thing is just starting to show features of bowing out as it heads into deep cook county. Oh boy.

 

[Danny Neal]

Confirmed tornado 83rd street and rt 53 in Naperville and Boughton Road and in Bolingbrook. Building collaspe in West Chicago. MABAS is issuing an emergency situation for all Chicago area first responders

 

[Jesse Risley]

We got tore up here in Western IL too. Reports are now coming in of major damage in the Kirkwood and Monmouth Areas (Warren County - DVN NWS Office) and Galesburg (Konx County - ILX NWS Office). DVN is sending an assessment team shortly. It appears to be typical derecho damage, with lots of minor structural damage, trailers turned over, trees down, lines down, etc.

 

[Danny Neal]

40 people injured in building collapse, windows blown out of downtown Chicago buildings, and a 74 mph gust 4 miles south of me. My neighborhood missed the brunt as the most intense of the storms moved north and south of me by about 5 miles. Numerous trees and powerlines down.

 

[David Draun]

More SVRs for some rather rambunctious convection on the back side of the MCS, nearly constant thunder and lightning to my NW right now. 60 mph winds are possible. Looks like another show about to begin in Iowa as well as the atmosphere is already rapidly recovering. CAPEs are definitely rebounding from the earlier storms. Areas already hit today are likely to get hit several more times during the next 48 hours!

 

[MatthewCarman]

Watch appears likely for central and southern IA and a tornado warning is now up for Marion County IA. Possible tornado on the ground near Knoxville. Anyone chasing this storm?

 

[Adam Lucio]

Second line is now intensifying up to 64DBZ. New warnings just coming out. I was on the train riding home when the first line hit. Part of a construction building was ripped off and the debris struck the orange line train I was riding on Just as it passed the Roosevelt stop. One of the windows was broken. Whole trees are snapped off at the base around my neighborhood.

 

[David Draun]

Tornado sirens a'screamin here in northern Cook county. No TOR though, I do see plenty of MESO markers on GRLevel3. Nice new bow echo about to plow on through!

Okay, they shut the sirens down, turns out the only one going was Schaumburg anyway. When the situation is serious or a test, I can usually hear a dozen different sounds. BTW, the entire sky from horizon to zenith is totally green, I've never seen anything like it! These are some tall thunderstorm tops, way up at 55kft. More damaging gusts out there now.

 

[Danny Neal]

Another partial building collapse in the south loop area in chicago.......although buildings around that area are not exactly gold coast...... More storms on the way

 

[Sam Sagnella]

I'd say there's an argument for this second event being more dangerous than the first, even though the storms are noticeably less intense. With all of the reports of debris in the streets, any wind gusts >40mph (let alone >60) will be making into projectiles anything left there (e.g. branches, broken glass, aluminum siding) during the storm. I hope everyone in the area, especially the cleanup/rescue crews, stay indoors as this wave passes, as the risk of significant injury to everyone outside appears to be very high.

 

[Joel Wright]

Looks like LOT's radar (in Romeoville) may have been knocked out by lightning. It's last scan was 2341, with the leading edge of the line of storms right on top of it...

 

[Colin Davis]

We got tore up here in Western IL too. Reports are now coming in of major damage in the Kirkwood and Monmouth Areas (Warren County - DVN NWS Office) and Galesburg (Konx County - ILX NWS Office). DVN is sending an assessment team shortly. It appears to be typical derecho damage, with lots of minor structural damage, trailers turned over, trees down, lines down, etc.

GBG AWOS measured 74mph winds with the leading edge of that cell, and reports from local media say that a private weather station between GBG and Knoxville recorded a wind gust of 100mph. Also, buddies from Knox College indicate that there are hundreds of trees down on campus...including several toppled on top of dorm buildings and Old Main, the site of the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates from the 1850s. Too bad I don't head back up there until the 1st!

Just to clear things up, though, derecho is not the term to use here. Nor is it in 95% of the cases the term is used to describe, but that's another story for another time.