Coal City tornado most powerful to hit area since 1990 Plainfield twister

COAL CITY – A bathtub, bicycle and living room chair were just a few of the items lifted from destroyed homes in the Richards Crossing subdivision of Coal City, and dropped 50 to 100 yards south in an open field across the street.

Homeowners and their helpers tiptoed Wednesday through the bed of debris – equal parts mud and wood, sprinkled with nails and insulation – scattered across 20 acres of land, with a hope of salvaging anything at all.

Abbie Norris, 19, said she was just trying to find things she could keep. Her parents moved the family in their home eight years ago. Now, the two above-ground floors of the Norris home are a pile of rubble.
Packing 160-mile-per-hour winds, the tornado that struck Coal City about 10 p.m. Monday was the most powerful to hit the region since the August 1990 tornado in Plainfield, according to the National Weather Service.

Monday night's EF3 tornado was on the ground for at least 16.5 miles with a peak width of three-quarters of a mile, said Ed Fenelon of the weather service. The tornado swept through portions of Coal City, Carbon Hill and Braidwood before ending its path of destruction on Berta Road. Grundy County has been declared as a state disaster area because of the destruction it left.

The 1990 Plainfield tornado ranked as an EF5, the highest possible, and killed 29 people and injured more than 350 people. No fatalities have been reported with the Coal City tornado, although five people were injured.

Like others with destroyed homes, Norris felt an extreme pressure in her ears as the tornado passed over, followed by the boom and crushing of the home above them.

A sheriff deputy checked on the family minutes later and help came. After they slipped their feet into random shoes laying nearby, they were lifted through a broken storm window by emergency helpers.
As of noon Wednesday, Norris said she, along with her mom, dad, two sisters, boyfriend and others, recovered purses, wallets and her mother's wedding dress.

Almost all of the Norrises’ clothes are gone. She was wearing a friend’s clothes Wednesday and bought a pair of gym shoes.

Norris, a 2014 graduate of Coal City High School, and her boyfriend are students at Augustana College. She recently started a job at Target but had to call in. A planned summer vacation is up in the air, but she was cheerful Wednesday.

“It’s just how I deal with things,” Norris said. “We’re glad everyone is OK.”

She and her father didn’t cry, but Norris said her two younger sisters did because they were scared by the destruction. Norris said her mother cried when she saw the devastation as she looked back at the home from the street in the middle of the night.

Brad Overton, the Norrises’ next-door neighbor, had everything but his basement pulverized in a minute’s time.

As he sat in the basement before the tornado touched down with his wife and two sons, Overton heard a whistling come through the vents. The house began to shake above them. He grabbed everyone and huddled under the basement stairway before the house crashed to pieces.

“Then you just hear rain,” Overton said.

One of the first homes constructed in the subdivision, the Overton home is no longer a mainstay in Richards Crossing.

At 1 p.m. Wednesday, the most prized possessions Overton had found were game balls from his 14- and 11-year-old sons’ Little League games. He found a rain-soaked baseball glove his grandparents gave him when he was a boy.

A lifelong Coal City resident, Overton has no plans of moving when the insurance money comes in. Although his wife mentioned moving to a tornado-safe area of the country, he’s thankful for the family and friends nearby willing to lend a helping hand.

“When stuff like this happens, [being from Coal City] sure comes in handy,” Overton said.

About 40 percent of the lots in the three- or four-block Richards Crossing neighborhood are empty, having never reached capacity after the recession.

Damage assessments continue

Grundy County Emergency Management Agency officials continued Wednesday with damage assessment efforts. Late Wednesday night, officials issued a news release that said the current estimate of properties affected is 1,372. Earlier in the day, Coal City Police Sgt. Tom Logan said the estimated number was between 50 and 100.

ComEd had by 2 p.m. Wednesday restored power to more than 95 percent of customers affected by the storm. Officials expected all remaining customers to have power restored by 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The initial stages of the debris management plan were in action, Logan said, and officials ask that residents place debris at the end of their lots, but not in the roadway. Public Works and other agencies will do pickups street by street.

Community Emergency Response Team volunteers were in the area, Diamond Mayor Terry Kernc said Wednesday. Mass numbers of volunteers are expected Friday, when, depending on the weather during the next couple days, the full volunteer effort is scheduled to begin.

Kernc said the Grundy County Community Organizations Active in Disaster will be based out of the Diamond Banquet Hall.

Calls and texts to Coal City Mayor Terry Halliday and Village Administrator Matt Fritz were not immediately returned Wednesday. Kernc said both were working around the clock in the community.

Nine tornadoes

Monday night’s storms spawned at least nine tornadoes in the region, the National Weather Service said Wednesday, up from the weather service’s initial tally of four on Tuesday afternoon.

At least two tornadoes – including Coal City’s – touched down near the Will-Grundy line, while a third tornado – an EF2 – in Lee County. A fourth touched down in Mendota, while a “high-end” EF2 with winds up to 130 miles per hour touched down in Sublette.

Other EF1 tornadoes touched down north of Ottawa, and in Mazon and Bourbonnais. An EF0 tornado hit Herscher. Two EF1 tornadoes touched down in Harmon.

It’s possible that more tornadic activity could be confirmed, according to NWS.

Weather service officials urged people to take caution into Thursday, as another round of strong storms was forecast for late Wednesday, packed with quarter-sized hail and strong winds.

Flash flooding remains the biggest concern into Thursday morning, as the forecast predicted rain could fall in some areas at a rate of one to two inches per hour.

“Folks need to find a way to pay attention to the weather,” Fenelon said. “It’s shaping up to be a volatile situation.”

Logan said contingency plans are in place in the event of severe weather, with Coal City Middle, Intermediate and High schools serving as storm shelters.