The National Weather Service Chicago office earlier this week confirmed a second tornado touched in Iroquois County on Friday, April 17.

The first confirmed tornado was an EF-1 in Buckley, located in the southwest portion of Iroquois County.

The Iroquois County Emergency Management Agency said the NWS rated the second tornado an EF-2, Director Scott Anderson said in a Monday, April 20 press release.

It came after further review of data and site visits by the damage assessment team that was surveyed at the Knauth Farm, 14 miles south and west of Sheldon.

The tornado sheared off new power poles at the base just south of U.S. Route 24 near Effner in Iroquois County at the Indiana state line.

The strength of the wind required to fell the poles in that way earned the tornado an EF-2 rating.

The tornado continued into Newton County, Indiana, where an EF-1 rated tornado hit Kentland.

The Iroquois County EMA said in an April 19 press release:

Late Friday (April 17) evening, a severe squall line capable of producing both tornadoes and damaging straight line winds, was headed for all areas within Iroquois County and this prompted the NWS to issue a severe thunderstorm warning for the western half of the county at 9:05 p.m.

As this line continued to move east, there were significant areas of embedded circulation identified, and the NWS issued a tornado warning at 9:15 p.m. for the western half of the county. This was significantly earlier than the storm was due to pass into the area, but the NWS decided to issue the warning at that time to prepare the residents and to keep them informed.

The sirens were sounded by ICOM dispatch in the western half of the county, per EMA protocol, at the time of the warning. This combination was to make sure residents were aware of the approaching dangerous situation. As the line began to pass through the county, the NWS issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the eastern half of the county at 9:46 p.m.

No tornado warning was issued by the NWS for the eastern half of the county. As the severe winds hit Watseka, Iroquois EMA Director Anderson gave the order to sound the sirens for the eastern half of the county, including Watseka.

Significant damage within the county was reported, and the NWS confirmed that an EF-1 rated tornado was responsible for the destruction in the Buckley area. Members of the Paxton ERS assisted EMA with spotting duties as well as damage assessment in the Buckley area.

Heavy damage was also reported in Woodland, with outbuildings, trees and power poles knocked down or destroyed.

For the second time in a year, the Knauth farm in Milford suffered significant damage to their cattle buildings and trees, but no animals were harmed.

The City of Watseka had a concentrated area of major tree damage, all on the southeast quadrant of the city. The severe line exited the county and continued its path of damage into Kentland, Indiana.

Other areas of damage within the county may be reported later. The NWS will continue to receive other data and may update the severity level of the storm track.

No injuries were reported with any of the weather-related incidents. No residential structures were reported to have been destroyed. Several outbuildings or grain storage structures were identified as significantly damaged or destroyed within the areas of this report.