http://ping.fm/p/G0wt1 – Streator south side ballfield.

National Weather Service Grades Magnolia And Streator Twisters

The National Weather Service has put out a preliminary assessment as to the strength of the Magnolia and Streator tornadoes.

Victor Gensini with the weather service in Romeoville says both tornadoes are categorized as strong EF2’s.  This means they had winds of between 111 to 135 miles per hour and blew roofs of homes, shifted home foundations, completely destroyed mobile homes, snapped or uprooted large trees and lifted cars off the ground.  The strength scale goes from EF0 which has 65 to 85 mile per hour winds all the way up to EF5 which has sustained winds of over 200 miles per hour.

Gensini says the tornadoes that hit Magnolia and Streator were not the same twister.  He says the Streator tornado stayed together, hitting Dwight and the Kankakee area before lifting.

He says the weather service may do aerial surveys of the destruction today to further assess the storm’s strength.

Number Treated After Tornado Climbs To 50

Hundreds of people without a home probably would differ, but Streator Mayor Jimmie Lansford says “it could’ve been much worse”.

All of the north end of Streator, the downtown area and St. Mary’s Hospital were spared from Mother Nature. Lansford does confirm that 50 people were treated as part of a triage scene at St. Mary’s Hospital but were all released with minor injuries.  The mayor says the city is utilizing an animal rescue team to search for any lost pets.

Lansford also says he understands that it’s frustrating to some who aren’t being allowed into the affected area but he says safety is the first priority.

First Hand Account Of Tornado

Picking up the pieces could take days for many living on the south end of Streator.

Joe Harmon lives with his wife on 904 South Vermilion Street, or right in the heart of damage in Streator.  Harmon’s home is still standing but with plenty of damage done and with someone else’s car that flew into his back yard.  He says no words can describe what happened to him and many others.

Harmon says he and his wife heard a first warning siren and hit the basement.  When a third siren went off, the storm was on top of them.  Harmon described about 20 seconds worth of banging, cracking and glass breaking with severe air pressure making it tough to breathe.

Harmon was thankful all his pets are alive.  One cat went missing until walking back inside the house full of mud some ten hours after the storm hit.

http://ping.fm/p/v8nYw – devistation in South Streator

http://ping.fm/p/M1676 – another image from the destruction in South Streator

Damage severe on Streator’s south side

http://ping.fm/p/kqZZc – Backstop at Southside Park

30 homes with major damage on the south side of Streator.  Many others have damage but nothing considered major after a tornado hit the town Saturday night.

Most of the damage was to homes but two businesses, including Danchris Nursery were damaged.  The recently renovated James Street baseball field was also torn up.  The press box and scoreboard have yet to be found.

St. Mary’s Hospital in Streator treated 50 people following the storm, 17 of them were brought in by ambulance.  All of them have been allowed to go home.

Clean up continues and crews with Com Ed are working to restore electricity.

http://ping.fm/p/2B8XD – more tornado damage

http://ping.fm/p/jZS7e – tornado damage in South Streator

Clean up underway after storm hits Magnolia

http://ping.fm/p/iaLOz – Food set up at McNabb Fire Station

Word of mouth and weather radios may have saved lives in Magnolia.  The village of about 300 was hit with a tornado at about 8:15pm Saturday.  Some homes were badly damaged, some destroyed, but nobody was hurt.

It was the same storm that moved on to hit the south side of Streator.

Magnolia Village President Laurie Smith says they don’t have tornado sirens, so people got word of the storm from family and friends.

She says they need help.  To find out what you can do, call the Magnolia Fire Station.  Unless you’re volunteering or checking on family, they would like you to avoid the area.

People that have lost their homes are being helped by their families though the Illinois Valley Red Cross has set up services at the McNabb Fire Station and Community Hall.