Mike Wilhelm's Alabama Weather Blog

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Bamawx.com

I have always enjoyed the WGN Weather Center Blog. They have some good photos and information on the slow moving, long track tornado that touched down yesterday southwest of Chicago at 4:34. I could have seen it because I usually visit my sister up there in June or July but we were not able to go this year. Richton Park was hit particularly hard.

From MyFox Chicago
"Tornadoes tore through Cook, Lake and Will counties Saturday evening, damaging houses and overturning vehicles. No fatalities have been reported. Commonwealth Edison is reporting that 29,000 customers were left without power as of 8 p.m. About 3,000 customers in Chicago and 25,000 in the south suburbs are in the dark, ComEd spokeswoman Judy Rader said. At 6:04 p.m., a tornado touched the ground near southwestern Monee and moved northeast at 26 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. At 6:53 p.m., a “large” tornado was spotted about two miles north of Chicago Heights near Interstate 80 by the Illinois-Indiana border, the weather service said. That tornado is possibly responsible for a crash on Interstate 57 that overturned multiple vehicles -- including a semi truck -- in the outbound lanes near Stuenkel Road by Monee about 6:22 p.m., said Illinois State Police Joliet District Trooper Mark Dorencz. One person was injured."

Tornadoes rip south suburbs - Chicago Sun Times
"A far-reaching storm system that produced multiple tornadoes swept through Cook, Will and Lake Counties Saturday evening, downing power lines, damaging homes and shutting down part of I-57. But by late Saturday night, only six injuries had been reported for a rare occurrence that caught many suburban towns by surprise. The storm caused significant property damage in Richton Park, Frankfort, University Park, Monee and Wilmington. As of 8 p.m., 29,000 ComEd customers were without power because of the storm. Of those, 25,000 were in Chicago's south suburbs."

Text of warning from NWS Chicago:

AT 620 PM CDT…EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTED A LARGE TORNADO ON THE
GROUND NEAR RICHTON PARK. THIS TORNADO WAS MOVING NORTHEAST AT 29
MPH.

THE TORNADO WILL BE NEAR…
RICHTON PARK BY 625 PM CDT…
CHICAGO HEIGHTS…SOUTH CHICAGO HEIGHTS…OLYMPIA FIELDS…AND
STEGER BY 630 PM CDT…
FORD HEIGHTS…HOMEWOOD…SAUK VILLAGE…AND EAST HAZEL CREST BY
635 PM CDT…
GLENWOOD…AND LYNWOOD BY 640 PM CDT…

THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE THREATENING SITUATION. THIS
STORM IS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING STRONG TO VIOLENT TORNADOES. IF YOU ARE
IN THE PATH OF THIS TORNADO…TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY

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URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 474
NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
105 PM CDT FRI JUN 6 2008

THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A
TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF 

     NORTHEAST ILLINOIS
     NORTHWEST INDIANA
     SOUTHEAST WISCONSIN
     LAKE MICHIGAN

EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING FROM 105 PM UNTIL 600
PM CDT.

TORNADOES…HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER…THUNDERSTORM WIND
GUSTS TO 70 MPH…AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE
AREAS.

THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 45 STATUTE
MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 65 MILES NORTH OF MILWAUKEE
WISCONSIN TO 75 MILES SOUTH SOUTHEAST OF MARSEILLES ILLINOIS. 
FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH
OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).

REMEMBER…A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR
TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND CLOSE TO THE WATCH
AREA. PERSONS IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR
THREATENING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR LATER STATEMENTS
AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.

OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 472…WW 473…

DISCUSSION…ISOLATED AND DISCRETE THUNDERSTORMS ARE DEVELOPING OVER
SOUTHEAST WI AND NORTHEAST IL…IN REGION OF MODERATE INSTABILITY
AND STRONG LOW/DEEP LAYER VERTICAL SHEAR.  SUPERCELLS ARE EXPECTED
THAT WILL TRACK NORTHEASTWARD INTO LAKE MI DURING THE AFTERNOON. 
THREAT OF HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL INCREASE WITH STORMS AS THEY
MOVE EASTWARD…AS WELL AS A RISK OF ISOLATED TORNADOES.