1967 Tornado Damage - Oak Lawn, Illinois
A Ddoge Coronet is parked among the wreckage, hopefully the owner only had broken windows to contend with..
Scanned from a Slide Transperancy purchased from a recent estate sale.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1967 Oak Lawn tornado outbreak was a destructive tornado outbreak and severe weather event that occurred on April 21, 1967, across the Upper Midwestern 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 outbreak produced numerous significant (F2+) tornadoes, among them eight alone in the U.S. state of Illinois, including one of just six[1] documented violent (F4–F5) tornadoes in the Chicago metropolitan area since the area was first settled.[2] The F4 tornado that struck Belvidere caused one of the highest tornado-related death tolls in a single school building and was featured in an episode of The Weather Channel's Storm Stories.
Oak Lawn–Evergreen Park–Chicago South Side, Illinois
The third and final F4 tornado to affect Illinois this day was also the deadliest tornado of the entire outbreak. An intense super cell with a hook echo on weather radar first appeared about 18 miles (29 km) west-northwest of Joliet at 4:45 p.m. CDT. Later, at 5:15 p.m., an employee of the U.S. Weather Bureau observed a rotating wall cloud about 10 miles (16 km) north of Joliet. Minutes later, severe thunderstorm winds blew out windows in a building, though no tornado or funnel cloud had yet occurred.[6] Near the Little Red Schoolhouse, in what is now the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, an observer first noted a funnel cloud to the south, moving east with hail up to .75 inches (19 mm) in diameter—but he was unable to report to the Weather Bureau as his telephone failed to give a dial tone.[6] At 5:24 p.m. CDT, a tornado touched down at the present-day campus of Moraine Valley Community College[4] and moved east-northeast, mainly at 70° heading.[5]
As it touched down, the tornado bent power poles and blew down small trees and vegetation, tossing dirt as it went. It then grew in size to 450 feet (150 yd) wide and entered Palos Hills, destroying about five buildings—including two frame homes and a brick home—and snapping trees.[6] Subsequently, the intensifying funnel severely damaged homes and a drive-in theater[4] in a half-block-wide area of the Chicago Ridge.[6]
Over the next six minutes, the tornado attained its maximum intensity as it tore a 16.2-mile (26.1 km) (60-mile-per-hour (97 km/h) ground speed) swath of damage through Oak Lawn, Hometown, and Evergreen Park.[4] As it passed through the business district of Oak Lawn, the tornado leveled many homes that were built entirely of brick.[6]
In Oak Lawn, the tornado threw 25–40 vehicles from the intersection of Southwest Highway and W. 95th St. (US-12/20),[4] killing 16 people who were stuck in traffic during the rush hour.[3] Partly for that reason, this tornado ended up being the deadliest in the outbreak.[6] As it moved beyond Oak Lawn, the tornado weakened and widened as it caused lighter damage to vegetation, roofs, and garages. It finally moved offshore as a waterspout at Rainbow Beach, producing a wind gust up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) at a water filtration plant on the lakefront shore.[6] In all, the tornado killed 33 people, including several children at the Oak Lawn roller skating rink,[7] and injured 1,000. It destroyed 152 homes and damaged 900, causing $50 million in damage. The destroyed buildings included a high school, grocery store, tavern, market, motel, drive-in theater, restaurant, numerous apartments, and two gas stations. Additionally, the tornado caused numerous fires in Oak Lawn which were quickly extinguished.[7]
1967 Tornado Damage - Oak Lawn, Illinois
A Ddoge Coronet is parked among the wreckage, hopefully the owner only had broken windows to contend with..
Scanned from a Slide Transperancy purchased from a recent estate sale.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1967 Oak Lawn tornado outbreak was a destructive tornado outbreak and severe weather event that occurred on April 21, 1967, across the Upper Midwestern 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 outbreak produced numerous significant (F2+) tornadoes, among them eight alone in the U.S. state of Illinois, including one of just six[1] documented violent (F4–F5) tornadoes in the Chicago metropolitan area since the area was first settled.[2] The F4 tornado that struck Belvidere caused one of the highest tornado-related death tolls in a single school building and was featured in an episode of The Weather Channel's Storm Stories.
Oak Lawn–Evergreen Park–Chicago South Side, Illinois
The third and final F4 tornado to affect Illinois this day was also the deadliest tornado of the entire outbreak. An intense super cell with a hook echo on weather radar first appeared about 18 miles (29 km) west-northwest of Joliet at 4:45 p.m. CDT. Later, at 5:15 p.m., an employee of the U.S. Weather Bureau observed a rotating wall cloud about 10 miles (16 km) north of Joliet. Minutes later, severe thunderstorm winds blew out windows in a building, though no tornado or funnel cloud had yet occurred.[6] Near the Little Red Schoolhouse, in what is now the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, an observer first noted a funnel cloud to the south, moving east with hail up to .75 inches (19 mm) in diameter—but he was unable to report to the Weather Bureau as his telephone failed to give a dial tone.[6] At 5:24 p.m. CDT, a tornado touched down at the present-day campus of Moraine Valley Community College[4] and moved east-northeast, mainly at 70° heading.[5]
As it touched down, the tornado bent power poles and blew down small trees and vegetation, tossing dirt as it went. It then grew in size to 450 feet (150 yd) wide and entered Palos Hills, destroying about five buildings—including two frame homes and a brick home—and snapping trees.[6] Subsequently, the intensifying funnel severely damaged homes and a drive-in theater[4] in a half-block-wide area of the Chicago Ridge.[6]
Over the next six minutes, the tornado attained its maximum intensity as it tore a 16.2-mile (26.1 km) (60-mile-per-hour (97 km/h) ground speed) swath of damage through Oak Lawn, Hometown, and Evergreen Park.[4] As it passed through the business district of Oak Lawn, the tornado leveled many homes that were built entirely of brick.[6]
In Oak Lawn, the tornado threw 25–40 vehicles from the intersection of Southwest Highway and W. 95th St. (US-12/20),[4] killing 16 people who were stuck in traffic during the rush hour.[3] Partly for that reason, this tornado ended up being the deadliest in the outbreak.[6] As it moved beyond Oak Lawn, the tornado weakened and widened as it caused lighter damage to vegetation, roofs, and garages. It finally moved offshore as a waterspout at Rainbow Beach, producing a wind gust up to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) at a water filtration plant on the lakefront shore.[6] In all, the tornado killed 33 people, including several children at the Oak Lawn roller skating rink,[7] and injured 1,000. It destroyed 152 homes and damaged 900, causing $50 million in damage. The destroyed buildings included a high school, grocery store, tavern, market, motel, drive-in theater, restaurant, numerous apartments, and two gas stations. Additionally, the tornado caused numerous fires in Oak Lawn which were quickly extinguished.[7]