Severe storms and tornadoes, including an EF2 tornado that caused extensive damage in Stephenson County, ripped through northern Illinois on Friday, leaving a trail of destruction across rural communities.

No deaths were reported, but damage was extensive. While damage assessments continue, the National Weather Service’s Chicago office said so far it has confirmed at least six tornadoes that impacted the office’s forecast area. They include EF1-rated tornadoes in Harrison, Roscoe, rural Livingston County, Gibson City and Buckley. An EFU tornado, which is when a tornado is seen but no damage can be found, was confirmed near Pecatonica.

But it was Lena, a village of almost 3,000 people about 120 miles northwest of Chicago, that sustained the heaviest damage.

The high-end EF2 tornado, with peak winds of 130 mph, began at 3:32 p.m., lasted 23 minutes and traveled 8½ miles. The NWS indicates the tornado, which may have had multiple vortexes, began along U.S. 20 southwest of Lena, moved through the village and lifted just southwest of McConnell.

The tornado began as an EF1, and immediately caused damage to trees. It gained strength to an EF2 tornado and snapped many power poles southwest of Lena. The tornado then turned to the right into town, causing a lot of roof, shingle and tree damage, according to the NWS Quad-City office.

The most significant damage occurred on Grove Street, where three houses lost their entire roof structure. Two of the homes sustained partial exterior wall collapses.

As the tornado moved to the northeast, damage to farm structures was noted. Even toward the end of the path, the tornado was causing EF1 damage to trees.

“We are extremely fortunate that this storm did not result in loss of life or serious injury,” Stephenson County Sheriff Steve Stovall said. Rural roads in affected areas became impassable with debris, and Stovall on Friday night said the village was closed to traffic until further notice.

West Carroll students from nearby Carroll County were in Lena for a music contest at the high school at the time of the tornado. West Carroll Superintendent Heidi Deininger said in a Facebook post Saturday that the district will have its student support team, including counselors and social workers, available at West Carroll High School to support any students who may need to talk.

She also responded to criticism about West Carroll’s decision to go to the music contest when northwestern Illinois towns had been warned of the potential of severe storms and tornadoes.

“First and foremost, student safety is always our top priority,” Deininger wrote. “I understand that, given this situation, some may question that. Please know that we would never knowingly put our students – your children – in harm’s way. I deeply regret that our students experienced this frightening event.

“At the same time, I ask that we avoid placing blame. As superintendent, I take responsibility for the decisions made. In hindsight, there are things we could have done differently.”

She said the district had monitored multiple weather sources, including information from the NWS. The forecast indicated a small chance of tornadoes, a higher likelihood of strong winds and expected thunderstorms.

“This was similar to earlier in the week, when we canceled events but did not experience storms until much later - or at all in some areas. Based on the information available at the time, we believed our students could travel, compete, and return home safely,” she wrote, adding the district recognizes some other schools chose not to attend, while others turned back after a warning was issued.

“Our students had already arrived before the warning,” she said. “While we anticipated storms, we believed there was a safe window for participation and travel. What occurred was not the fault of our music directors, Lena staff, our administrative team, or parents. We all made the decision that we thought was best, given the information we had.”

Deininger asked the West Carroll community to keep the Lena community in their thoughts and prayers and extended gratitude to the Lena staff for moving students to safety and to the first responders who acted quickly.

“Moving forward, we will err on the side of caution,” Deininger wrote. “This may result in cancellations that some may question, but our priority will always be safety. We will also consult a broader range of weather sources and consider the decisions of neighboring districts more closely.”

In response to the devastation in Lena, The Foundation for Northwest Illinois has activated the Lena Strong Community Fund, a rapid-response disaster relief fund designed to support nonprofits providing immediate aid to residents.

The foundation has pledged to match all community donations dollar-for-dollar, up to $50,000, to accelerate relief efforts.

The foundation said in a news release that 100% of the funds donated will be distributed to nonprofit organizations currently lending aid and resources to those affected by the recent crisis and storm damage.

The fund provides “an immediate, grassroots vehicle for ‘neighbor helping neighbor,’” according to the foundation, which serves Jo Daviess, Stephenson and Carroll counties.

Donations can be mailed to The Foundation for Northwest Illinois c/o Lena Strong Community Fund, 1525 S. Forest Road, Suite 200, Freeport, IL 61032.

Friday night’s storms capped off an active stretch of weather that began April 13, according to the NWS, which said the Storm Prediction Center forecast an elevated severe weather threat April 13, 14, 15 and 17. Several waves of thunderstorms during the week led to significant rainfall across parts of the area, particularly over northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, according to the NWS.

Chicago’s O’Hare Airport recorded a daily record rainfall of 2.43 inches on April 14. Rainfall totals of 4 to 6 inches were commonplace near the Wisconsin state line, and the repeated rounds of heavy rainfall led to substantial rises on area rivers, particularly along parts of the Rock, Fox, and Des Plaines rivers, according to the NWS.

The NWS said storm survey teams will continue to assess damage through the week in collaboration with county emergency management offices.