Three tornadoes touched down in Winnebago County on Friday amid severe storms that prompted tornado, flood and thunderstorm alerts in several Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana counties and left damage across the region.
National Weather Service crews surveying the northern Illinois area on Saturday confirmed three tornadoes touched down in Winnebago County during the afternoon and evening on Friday, NWS said in a social media post.
An EF-U level tornado hit Pecatonica, NWS said. An EF-U ranking, or EF-Unknown, on the Enhanced Fujita scale used by survey crews means the tornado did not cause surveyable damage and can’t be ranked on the scale. This most often occurs when the tornado lands in an open field or rural area.
EF-1 level tornadoes hit Harrison and Roscoe, NWS said. EF-1 level tornadoes produce gusts between 86 and 110 mph.
NWS said in the post that they will release details on peak winds speeds and path width and lengths soon.
Video shared with NBC Chicago showed one of the tornadoes near the Rockton area amid the storms.
Video shows a tornado actively on the ground near Rockton, Illinois on Friday evening.
Video captured the violent storms tearing through Lena, Illinois in neighboring Stephenson County. Strong winds can be seen whipping debris into the air as the storm blanketed the area.
Dramatic timelapse video captures a violent storm tearing across Lena, Illinois
Northern Illinois was under an enhanced risk for severe storms Friday afternoon and evening. A tornado watch was issued for the Chicago area through much of the evening and tornado warnings were issued for several counties, including Winnebago, throughout the evening.
