The Belvidere Tornado Outbreak was the tornado outbreak that occurred on April 21, 1967 across the Upper Midwest of the United States, in particular the Chicago area including the towns of Belvidere and Oak Lawn, Illinois. It was the most notable tornado outbreak of 1967 and one of the most notable to occur in the Chicago area. The Belvidere disaster was documented in an episode of The Weather Channel's Storm Stories.
Contents |
| Confirmed Total |
Confirmed F0 |
Confirmed F1 |
Confirmed F2 |
Confirmed F3 |
Confirmed F4 |
Confirmed F5 |
| 44 | 5 | 14 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| F# | Location | County | Time (UTC) | Path length | Damage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | ||||||
| F0 | NE of Azen | Scotland | 1400 | 1 miles (1.6 km) | ||
| F1 | NE of Gower | Clinton | 1830 | 0.2 miles (0.32 km) | ||
| F1 | Cameron area | Clinton | 1900 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
| F2 | E of Pattonsburg | Daviess | 1900 | 8.4 miles (13.4 km) | ||
| F0 | NE of Gallatin | Daviess | 1915 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
| F3 | N of Mandeville | Ray, Carroll | 1920 | 14.6 miles (23.4 km) | ||
| F2 | S of Humphreys | Grundy, Sullivan | 2000 | 6.3 miles (10.1 km) | ||
| F2 | NE of Cunningham | Chariton | 2010 | 3 miles (4.8 km) | ||
| F4 | SE of Forker to W of Pelvna | Linn, Macon, Knox | 2020 | 59 miles (94.4 km) | ||
| F2 | SE of Salt Springs to E of Orearville | Saline | 2020 | 20.4 miles (32.6 km) | ||
| F0 | W of Corder | Lafayette | 2103 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
| F1 | NE of Adrian | Bates | 2110 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
| Indiana | ||||||
| F1 | Rushville area | Rush | 1833 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
| F2 | NE of Commiskey | Jennings, Jefferson | 2310 | 6.3 miles (10.1 km) | ||
| F0 | NE of Monticello | White | 0227 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
| Iowa | ||||||
| F3 | E of Fairfield | Jefferson | 2000 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
| F2 | E of Birmingham to NE of Mount Union | Van Buren, Hancock | 2100 | 32.8 miles (52.5 km) | ||
| Illinois | ||||||
| F1 | SW of Spring Hill | Whiteside | 2130 | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) | ||
| F2 | E of Coal Valley to S of Hooppole | Henry | 2135 | 25.1 miles (40.2 km) | ||
| F2 | N of Hooppole | Henry | 2150 | 4.5 miles (7.2 km) | ||
| F4 | SW of Belvidere to N of Woodstock | Boone, McHenry | 2150 | 25.5 miles (40.8 km) | 25 deaths | |
| F1 | S of Daysville | Ogle | 2200 | 1 miles (1.6 km) | ||
| F2 | W of Maytown | Lee | 2202 | 5.6 miles (9 km) | ||
| F1 | SE of Amboy | Lee | 2215 | 5.6 miles (9 km) | ||
| F1 | W of Kasbeer | Bureau | 2230 | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) | ||
| F2 | SE of Hennepin | Putnam | 2230 | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) | ||
| F1 | SE of DeKalb | DeKalb | 2240 | 2 miles (3.2 km) | ||
| F4 | NW of Middlebury to W of Hawthorn Woods | McHenry, Lake | 2300 | 8.8 miles (14.1 km) | 1 death | |
| F2 | NE of South Elgin | Kane | 2310 | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) | ||
| F1 | NW of Bloomingdale | DuPage | 2310 | 0.5 miles (0.8 km) | ||
| F1 | Addison to Schiller Park | DuPage, Cook | 2310 | 6.8 miles (10.9 km) | ||
| F4 | Palos Park to Chicago (South Side-entering Lake Michigan at 79th Street) | Cook | 2324 | 15 miles (24 km) | 33 deaths | |
| F1 | South Holland area | Cook | 2340 | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) | ||
| F1 | Champaign area | Champaign | 0250 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
| Michigan | ||||||
| F2 | E of Spring Grove to SE of Bentheim | Allegan | 2355 | 18.6 miles (29.8 km) | ||
| F3 | SW of Grandville to N of Cascade | Kent | 2358 | 13.6 miles (21.8 km) | ||
| F2 | NE of Middleville to NW of Lake Odessa | Barry | 0000 | 14.5 miles (23.2 km) | ||
| F2 | Derby area | Berrien | 0025 | 1 miles (1.6 km) | ||
| F0 | S of Holton | Muskegon | 0110 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
| F2 | Portland area | Ionia | 0115 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
| F4 | NE of Westphalia | Clinton | 0115 | 12 miles (19.2 km) | ||
| F2 | N of Cascade | Kent | 0130 | 0.3 miles (0.5 km) | ||
| F1 | N of Sunfield | Eaton | 0148 | 0.1 miles (0.16 km) | ||
| F2 | Potterville to Lansing | Eaton, Ingham | 0210 | 10.9 miles (17.4 km) | ||
| Sources: | ||||||
| State | Total | County | County total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 58 | Boone | 24 |
| Cook | 33 | ||
| Lake | 1 | ||
| Totals | 58 | ||
| All deaths were tornado-related | |||
The 21st of April was a warm Friday afternoon in northern Illinois. A warm front part of a very deep storm system had been marching through Illinois all day and by afternoon moved north of the state. Temperatures ahead of the storms into the low to mid 70s with dewpoints in the 60s, a 120-knot (220 km/h) upper level jet and increasing low-level shear.[1] By 3 P.M., more than 12 tornadoes had already been spawned from the storm system. The National Weather Service was able to issue a tornado watch at 1:50 P.M.
At 3:50 P.M., a violent tornado rated F4 on the Fujita scale, moved through Belvidere, Illinois, damaging the high school and overturning buses. Twenty-four people were killed and another 410 injured. 127 homes were destroyed and 379 damaged. The storm continued into McHenry County, spawning another tornado in Woodstock. The two tornadoes covered a 25-mile (40 km) swath. Thirteen of the 24 people killed in Belvidere were killed at the school, making this tornado the 6th deadliest ever to hit a school [1]. The Belvidere Tornado was especially devastating because it hit the school just as students were getting on the buses to go home. Just before 4pm, the F4 Tornado reached the school. Twelve buses, already filled with elementary school and middle school students, were tossed about. Shortly after the passing of the tornado, faculty and some of the stronger students used the fireproof doors of the high school as stretchers to carry the injured into the cafeteria, the severely injured to the library, and the dead to the gymnasium.
At 5:30 P.M., another strong, later F4-estimated, tornado touched down near Palos Hills. It strengthened and in the space of six minutes, tore a 16.2-mile (65 mph ground speed) swath of destruction through Oak Lawn, Hometown, Evergreen Park, and devastated the south side of Chicago before moving offshore to Lake Michigan as people were stuck in traffic during Friday rush hour. For that reason, this tornado ended up being the deadliest in the outbreak. Thirty-three people were killed and 1000 were injured, including 16 deaths alone at the intersection of Southwest Highway and W. 95th St. (US-12/20) in Oak Lawn. It destroyed 152 homes and damaged 900, causing $50 million in damage.
These tornadoes were a part of a tornado outbreak which also affected parts of Illinois, northern Missouri, southeast Iowa, and southern lower Michigan. There were a total of 19 tornadoes in Illinois. The entire outbreak killed 58 people.
Two days later on Sunday, April 23, 1967, three inches (76 mm) of snow fell on Belvidere, which only exacerbated the cleanup from Friday's tornadoes. In fact, many cities and towns in the Midwest broke record overnight lows on April 24 and 25. A state of emergency was declared for Boone County, and the reserves came to assist in the cleanup effort. Senator Charles Percy and Illinois Governor Otto Kerner visited to speak with victims and thank the recovery volunteers.