12 tornadoes were produced in Indiana, Illinois during severe storms in early March, weather service says
The National Weather Service confirmed on Tuesday that 12 tornadoes were produced across Illinois and northern Indiana during a series of severe storms earlier this month.
The supercell produced 10 tornadoes in Illinois and two others in northern Indiana on March 10.
The most powerful tornado was an EF-3 in Kankakee County. Updated information indicated that the tornado had 160 mph winds, with a width of 15 football fields, and the path length stretched over 35 miles, according to the NWS.
The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies the strength of a tornado from EF-0, the weakest, to EF-5, the strongest.
Three people were killed in the storms, including an elderly couple in Lake Village, Indiana. The third victim, a 65-year-old man, was found in a home in Aroma Park in Kankakee County while crews were cleaning up storm damage. Eleven other people were also injured in the storms.
An EF-0 tornado touched down in Pontiac, Illinois, with peak winds of 75 mph, a path length of 1.07 miles, and a path width of 175 yards. The storm lifted the roof of a boathouse and damaged a dock, garage, and fence.
There were two EF-1 tornadoes. One in Sun River Terrace with a peak wind of 90 mph, with a length of 1.31 miles and a width of 150 yards. The second in Wheatfield, Indiana, had a peak wind of 110 mph, with a length of 10.46 miles and a width of 900 yards. Three people were injured.
Six EF-U tornadoes touched down in Illinois, but did not leave behind any observable damage. The first in Cayuga had a path length of 0.25 miles with a path width of 10 yards. The second touched down in Kanakee Township with a path length of 0.55 miles and a path width of 10 yards. The third was confirmed in Otto Township with a path length of 0.51 miles and a path width of 60 yards.
The fourth was also in Sun River Terrace. The path length was 0.09 miles, with the path width being 20 yards. In Ganeer Township, the path length was 0.15 miles, while there was no width, and in Hopkins Park, the tornado was 1.76 miles for path length and 80 yards in path width. The peak wind for each of the tornadoes was not available.
The supercell from the tornadoes also produced hail ranging in size from 2 to 4 inches in diameter from Pontiac to the Illinois/Indiana state line. A separate supercell produced giant hail from Bolingbrook to Darien, Illinois, with hailstones that measured 3 to 4 inches in diameter, according to the NWS. The largest hailstone from this supercell was 4.8 inches in Darien.
