February 27, 2023: Rare February Tornadoes in Northern and Central Illinois

Fast Facts

• A quick-moving, vigorously deep weather system was responsible for widespread soaking rain and embedded storms, some severe, in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana on Monday morning, February 27. This same storm system produced widespread severe weather in the Plains on Sunday.

• Storm surveys conducted in coordination with local emergency management officials and visual reports provided by trained storm spotters confirmed that a total of three short-lived tornadoes occurred Monday morning in the NWS Chicago forecast area.

• Two of the tornadoes were rated EF-0 and occurred for less than a few minutes each in the Chicago suburbs:
  • ​One occurred on the far west side of Joliet, IL, crossing from Kendall County into Will County and causing roof, window, fence, and tree damage along its path
  • Another occurred on the north side of Naperville and mainly caused tree damage

• The third tornado in Ford County in east central Illinois occurred near the small community of Clarence and was identified through confirmed photos relayed through broadcast meteorology partners. Emergency management identified no damage associated with this tornado, so it was accordingly rated as an EF-U, or EF-Unknown.

• Two additional EF-U tornadoes occurred in east central Illinois near Champaign in NWS Lincoln's forecast area.

• Storm damage that occurred south of Fowler, IN was also assessed and was deemed to have been caused by straight-line winds of up to 70 mph.

• Monday's event served as a reminder that tornadoes can happen at any time of the year in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, and that some environments are favorable for them to spin up quickly, such as Monday morning's setup (strong turning winds in the atmosphere but little warming at the surface).

• Many communities received over one inch of rain Monday morning, which resulted in ponding on roads, as well as field and ditch flooding. Rockford received 1.54" of rain, which broke their daily record for February 27 of 1.30" set in 1948. 

Climatology

For the NWS Chicago Forecast Area (map)

• These were the first February tornadoes to occur since February 28, 2017.

• Since 1950, only 8 February tornadoes had been documented prior to Monday, February 27. Seven of those occurred on February 28, 2017, while the other one occurred in Iroquois County on February 16, 2006.

• With a tornado being confirmed in Naperville, 2023 is now the third consecutive calendar year that a tornado had occurred within the city limits of Naperville.

• Breakdown of severe weather and tornadoes by month in the NWS Chicago forecast area:

(click on image to enlarge)		(click on image to enlarge)

• More on local area severe weather climatology can be found on our Severe Weather Climatology Web Page.

Tornadoes

Preliminary Full Public Information Statement (Issued Tuesday Evening, February 28)

Tornado #1: Clarence EF-U

Tornado #2: Joliet EF-0

Tornado #3: Naperville EF-0

Storm Reports and Photos

National Storm Reports for February 27, 2023 Interactive Storm Report Map

Photo of a tornado near Clarence, IL. Photo courtesy of Terri Maulding.	Photo of a funnel cloud near Brook, IN. Relayed via the Newton County Emergency Management Agency		Tornado damage in the Kendall Ridge subdivision of Joliet, IL. Photo courtesy of Andy Krein.
Tornado damage in the Kendall Ridge subdivision of Joliet, IL. Photo courtesy of Andy Krein.	Tornado damage in the Clublands subdivision of Joliet, IL. Photo from NWS damage survey.		Tornado damage in the Kendall Ridge subdivision of Joliet, IL. Photo from NWS damage survey.
Tornado damage in Naperville, IL. Photo courtesy of Joe Pudlik.		Wind damage south of Fowler, IN. Photo courtesy of the Benton County Emergency Management Agency.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1141 PM CST MON FEB 27 2023

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0915 AM     TORNADO          2 SW CLARENCE           40.44N 88.00W
02/27/2023                   FORD               IL   PUBLIC           

            TWO PUBLIC REPORTS OF A TORNADO TOUCHDOWN 
            EAST OF PAXTON RELAYED BY BROADCAST MEDIA. 
            ONE REPORT INCLUDES PHOTOS AND VIDEOS OF THE 
            TORNADO, WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN ON THE GROUND 
            FOR SEVERAL MINUTES SOUTH OF THE VILLAGE OF 
            CLARENCE. LOCATION IS VERY APPROXIMATE, NO 
            DAMAGE YET REPORTED. 

0942 AM     TORNADO          4 NW SHOREWOOD          41.56N 88.26W
02/27/2023                   KENDALL            IL   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            CONFIRMED TORNADO NEAR KENDALL RIDGE BLVD 
            AND TOWNSEND BLVD IN JOLIET. TREE DAMAGE, 
            LARGE OBJECTS FLIPPED, FENCE BLOWN OUT AND 
            WINDOW BLOWN OUT. 

0952 AM     TORNADO          2 ESE WARRENVILLE       41.81N 88.14W
02/27/2023                   DUPAGE             IL   NWS STORM SURVEY 

            THIS TORNADO OCCURRED IN THE CITY LIMITS OF 
            NAPERVILLE WITH ESTIMATED PEAK WINDS OF 80 
            MPH. BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN NEAR NAPERVILLE 
            NORTH HIGH SCHOOL AND TRACKED NORTH FOR 
            APPROXIMATELY 1.4 MILES. DAMAGE DONE TO 
            SEVERAL TREES. 

1022 AM     FUNNEL CLOUD     3 W BROOK               40.87N 87.42W
02/27/2023                   NEWTON             IN   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE 

            VIDEO OF FUNNEL ABOUT HALF WAY TO THE GROUND 
            WEST OF BROOK RELAYED VIA EMERGENCY MANAGER. 

1106 AM     TSTM WND DMG     3 S FOWLER              40.58N 87.33W
02/27/2023                   BENTON             IN   EMERGENCY MNGR   

            POTENTIAL TORNADO DAMAGE. OUTBUILDINGS WITH 
            ROOF DAMAGE. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR 
            IMAGERY.
 

Rain Totals

Approximate precipitation totals from the night of February 26th through the evening of February 27th

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1032 PM CST MON FEB 27 2023 /1132 PM EST MON FEB 27 2023/

...RAINFALL OBSERVATIONS FROM MONDAY FEBRUARY 27...

OBSERVATIONS ARE COLLECTED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES WITH VARYING
EQUIPMENT AND EXPOSURES. NOT ALL DATA LISTED ARE CONSIDERED OFFICIAL.

LOCATION                     AMOUNT     PROVIDER             
------------------------------------------------
...ILLINOIS...

...BOONE COUNTY...
ROSCOE                       1.03 IN    CWOP                 
POPLAR GROVE                 0.69 IN    CWOP                 

...COOK COUNTY...
LA GRANGE                    1.66 IN    CWOP                 
STREAMWOOD                   1.46 IN    CWOP                 
BURR RIDGE                   1.45 IN    CWOP                 
HICKORY HILLS                1.40 IN    CWOP                 
ROLLING MEADOWS              1.37 IN    CWOP                 
GLENVIEW                     1.34 IN    CWOP                 
OAK PARK                     1.31 IN    CWOP                 
HOFFMAN ESTATES              1.20 IN    CWOP                 
RIVERSIDE - DES PLAINES R.   1.20 IN    HADS                 
FRANKLIN PARK                1.19 IN    CWOP                 
1 N NORRIDGE                 1.15 IN    CWOP                 
1 ESE WHEELING               1.10 IN    AWS                  
1 ESE EVANSTON               1.08 IN    AWS                  
CHICAGO O''HARE              1.01 IN    ASOS                 
ROSEMONT                     1.00 IN    CWOP                 
CHICAGO                      0.99 IN    CWOP                 
HAZEL CREST                  0.99 IN    AWS                  
HOFFMAN ESTATES              0.96 IN    CWOP                 
DES PLAINES                  0.96 IN    AWS                  
CHICAGO                      0.96 IN    CWOP                 
HARWOOD HEIGHTS              0.95 IN    AWS                  
WHEELING - CHICAGO EXEC. ARP 0.94 IN    ASOS                 
1 W DES PLAINES              0.91 IN    AWS                  
WILMETTE                     0.91 IN    CWOP                 
CHICAGO                      0.89 IN    CWOP                 
LEMONT                       0.88 IN    AWS                  
TINLEY PARK                  0.87 IN    CWOP                 
CHICAGO MIDWAY               0.85 IN    ASOS                 
NORTHERLY ISLAND             0.81 IN    AWS                  
LEMONT                       0.81 IN    AWS                  
1 ESE SOUTH CHICAGO          0.73 IN    AWS                  
PHOENIX                      0.73 IN    AWS                  
RIVER FOREST                 0.72 IN    AWS                  
2 NNE TINLEY PARK            0.72 IN    AWS                  
1 WSW NORTHBROOK             0.69 IN    URBANET              
SOUTH HOLLAND - LITTLE CALUM 0.68 IN    HADS                 
GLENWOOD                     0.67 IN    CWOP                 
ORLAND PARK                  0.66 IN    CWOP                 
HARVEY                       0.64 IN    AWS                  
1 SSE EAST HAZEL CREST       0.61 IN    AWS                  
1 WNW LOGAN SQUARE           0.59 IN    URBANET              
LA GRANGE                    0.58 IN    CWOP                 
1 SSE CHICAGO LOOP           0.56 IN    URBANET              
LINCOLN PARK - CHICAGO       0.50 IN    AWS                  

...DE KALB COUNTY...
SANDWICH                     1.08 IN    AWS                  
NIU AGRONOMY SHABONNA 5 NNE  0.95 IN    HADS                 
GENOA                        0.84 IN    CWOP                 
SYCAMORE                     0.79 IN    AWS                  
SYCAMORE                     0.74 IN    CWOP                 
DEKALB AIRPORT               0.70 IN    AWOS                                 

...DUPAGE COUNTY...
WARRENVILLE                  1.32 IN    CWOP                 
ROSELLE                      1.32 IN    CWOP                 
ITASCA                       1.30 IN    AWS                  
2 NNE CAROL STREAM           1.20 IN    AWS                  
WARRENVILLE                  1.20 IN    CWOP                 
1 WSW BLOOMINGDALE           1.18 IN    AWS                  
1 NNW CAROL STREAM           1.17 IN    AWS                  
WEST CHICAGO                 1.14 IN    CWOP                 
GLEN ELLYN 4S                1.12 IN    COOP                 
WHEATON                      1.03 IN    CWOP                 
WARRENVILLE                  1.03 IN    CWOP                 
0.7 NW WOOD DALE             1.03 IN    HADS                 
1 SSE CAROL STREAM           1.02 IN    AWS                  
1 WSW WOODRIDGE              0.92 IN    AWS                  
BENSENVILLE                  0.92 IN    AWS                  
NAPERVILLE                   0.92 IN    CWOP                 
WARRENVILLE - W. BR. DUPAGE  0.92 IN    HADS                 
2 S GLEN ELLYN               0.87 IN    AWS                  
WHEATON                      0.87 IN    CWOP                 
WEST CHICAGO                 0.86 IN    CWOP                 
WOODRIDGE                    0.85 IN    CWOP                 
SALT CR. - ELMHURST          0.84 IN    HADS                 
1 NNE GLENDALE HEIGHTS       0.84 IN    AWS                  
YORK CENTER                  0.79 IN    URBANET              
WOODRIDGE                    0.74 IN    CWOP                 
WEST CHICAGO - DUPAGE ARPT.  0.72 IN    ASOS                 
WHEATON                      0.70 IN    CWOP                 
NAPERVILLE                   0.70 IN    AWS                  
WESTMONT                     0.69 IN    CWOP                 
NAPERVILLE                   0.67 IN    UCOOP                
WEST CHICAGO                 0.65 IN    CWOP                 
WHEATON                      0.65 IN    CWOP                 
WOODRIDGE                    0.65 IN    ALERT                
LISLE                        0.61 IN    AWS                  
NAPERVILLE                   0.58 IN    CWOP                 
WHEATON                      0.56 IN    CWOP                 
OAK BROOK - SALT CR.         0.56 IN    HADS                               

...GRUNDY COUNTY...
CHANNAHON                    1.28 IN    CWOP                 
4 NNW COAL CITY              0.90 IN    CWOP                 
MORRIS AIRPORT               0.82 IN    AWOS                 
MORRIS - ILLINOIS R.         0.67 IN    HADS                                 

...IROQUOIS COUNTY...
MILFORD                      0.84 IN    CWOP                 
WATSEKA                      0.64 IN    CWOP                 
CHEBANSE                     0.56 IN    CWOP                 

...KANE COUNTY...
HUNTLEY                      1.41 IN    CWOP                 
CARPENTERSVILLE              1.30 IN    CWOP                 
ELGIN - TYLER CR.            1.14 IN    HADS                 
SAINT CHARLES                1.14 IN    CWOP                 
ELBURN                       1.12 IN    CWOP                 
ELGIN                        1.12 IN    CWOP                 
3 WNW NORTH AURORA           1.05 IN    AWS                  
GENEVA                       1.05 IN    CWOP                 
ST. CHARLES                  1.04 IN    CWOP                 
3 NNE CAMPTON HILLS          1.02 IN    AWS                  
GENEVA                       1.02 IN    CWOP                 
1.9 N ELGIN                  0.99 IN    ALERT                
ELBURN                       0.99 IN    CWOP                 
AURORA                       0.99 IN    CWOP                 
GENEVA                       0.95 IN    CWOP                 
ST. CHARLES                  0.92 IN    AWS                  
ELBURN                       0.88 IN    CWOP                 
SUGAR GROVE - AURORA ARPT.   0.72 IN    ASOS                               

...KANKAKEE COUNTY...
REDDICK                      0.81 IN    CWOP                 
UNION HILL                   0.71 IN    CWOP                 
GRANT PARK                   0.70 IN    CWOP                 
BONFIELD                     0.69 IN    CWOP                 
1 E KANKAKEE                 0.61 IN    AWS                  
HERSCHER                     0.52 IN    AWS                  
KANKAKEE AIRPORT             0.44 IN    AWOS                 

...KENDALL COUNTY...
OSWEGO                       1.43 IN    CWOP                 
OSWEGO                       1.02 IN    CWOP                 
OSWEGO                       1.00 IN    CWOP                 
OSWEGO - WAUBONSEE CR.       0.76 IN    HADS                 

...LA SALLE COUNTY...
UTICA                        0.69 IN    CWOP                 
PERU AIRPORT                 0.63 IN    AWOS                 
STREATOR                     0.58 IN    CWOP                                           

...LAKE COUNTY...
4 S HAINESVILLE              1.60 IN    AWS                  
BUFFALO GROVE                1.57 IN    CWOP                 
DEERFIELD                    1.54 IN    CWOP                 
VERNON HILLS                 1.49 IN    CWOP                 
BARRINGTON                   1.46 IN    CWOP                 
ZION                         1.45 IN    CWOP                 
HAWTHORN WOODS               1.39 IN    CWOP                 
LIBERTYVILLE                 1.38 IN    CWOP                 
1 NE THIRD LAKE              1.37 IN    CWOP                 
WAUKEGAN AIRPORT             1.32 IN    ASOS                 
LIBERTYVILLE                 1.26 IN    AWS                  
LAKE ZURICH                  1.20 IN    CWOP                 
2 WNW MUNDELEIN              1.19 IN    AWS                  
GURNEE                       1.17 IN    CWOP                 
2 N FOX LAKE HILLS           1.07 IN    AWS                  
LAKE BLUFF                   1.06 IN    CWOP                 
GRAYSLAKE                    1.01 IN    CWOP                 
GURNEE  - DES PLAINES R.     0.94 IN    HADS                 
DEERFIELD - W. FORK N. BR. C 0.90 IN    HADS                 
1 E GURNEE                   0.85 IN    AWS                  
DEERFIELD - N. BR. CHICAGO R 0.81 IN    HADS                 
LAKE FOREST                  0.80 IN    CWOP                 
DEERFIELD                    0.69 IN    CWOP                 
LAKE ZURICH                  0.65 IN    CWOP                 
LAKE FOREST                  0.56 IN    CWOP                                

...LEE COUNTY...
DIXON                        0.94 IN    CWOP                 
DIXON - ROCK R.              0.83 IN    HADS                 
SUBLETTE                     0.68 IN    CWOP                 
DIXON - ROCK R.              0.67 IN    HADS                 

...LIVINGSTON COUNTY...
DWIGHT                       0.89 IN    CWOP                 
DWIGHT                       0.76 IN    CWOP                 
PONTIAC - VERMILION R.       0.52 IN    HADS                 
PONTIAC AIRPORT              0.47 IN    AWOS                 

...MCHENRY COUNTY...
ALGONQUIN                    1.67 IN    CWOP                 
LAKE IN THE HILLS            1.51 IN    CWOP                 
3 ESE HARVARD                1.42 IN    AWS                  
JOHNSBURG                    1.35 IN    CWOP                             
RICHMOND                     1.28 IN    CWOP                 
WOODSTOCK                    1.26 IN    CWOP                 
WOODSTOCK                    1.26 IN    CWOP                 
CARY                         1.20 IN    CWOP                 
WONDER LAKE                  1.19 IN    CWOP                 
COAL CREEK CANYON            1.12 IN    CWOP                 
WOODSTOCK                    1.12 IN    CWOP                 
WONDER LAKE - NIPPERSINK CR. 1.09 IN    HADS                 
UNION                        1.08 IN    AWS                  
HUNTLEY                      1.07 IN    CWOP                 
MCHENRY                      0.90 IN    CWOP                              

...OGLE COUNTY...
MOUNT MORRIS                 0.92 IN    CWOP                 
ROCHELLE AIRPORT             0.40 IN    AWOS                 

...WILL COUNTY...
JOLIET                       1.92 IN    CWOP                 
PLAINFIELD                   1.40 IN    CWOP                 
HOMER GLEN                   1.25 IN    CWOP                 
NAPERVILLE                   1.22 IN    CWOP                 
PLAINFIELD                   1.19 IN    CWOP                 
SHOREWOOD - DUPAGE R.        1.12 IN    HADS                 
NEW LENOX                    1.09 IN    CWOP                 
2 NW PLAINFIELD              1.04 IN    CWOP                 
JOLIET AIRPORT               1.00 IN    AWOS                 
1 NNW SHOREWOOD              1.00 IN    AWS                  
MIDEWIN RAWS                 0.97 IN    RAWS                 
ROCKDALE - BRANDON LOCK AND  0.94 IN    HADS                 
1 WSW CRYSTAL LAWNS          0.93 IN    AWS                  
2.0 NW HOMER GLEN            0.92 IN    HADS                 
LOCKPORT - CHICAGO SHIP CANA 0.89 IN    HADS                 
PEOTONE                      0.88 IN    CWOP                 
PLAINFIELD                   0.88 IN    CWOP                 
6 NNE BONFIELD               0.69 IN    AWS                  
FRANKFORT                    0.67 IN    CWOP                 
NAPERVILLE - W. BR. DUPAGE R 0.66 IN    HADS                 
FRANKFORT                    0.62 IN    URBANET                              

...WINNEBAGO COUNTY...
ROCKFORD AIRPORT             1.54 IN    ASOS                 
SOUTH BELOIT                 1.35 IN    CWOP                 
SOUTH BELOIT                 1.00 IN    CWOP                 
ROCKTON - ROCK R.            0.97 IN    HADS                 
ROSCOE                       0.93 IN    CWOP                 
ROSCOE                       0.80 IN    CWOP                 

...INDIANA...

...JASPER COUNTY...
4 NW REMINGTON               0.78 IN    AWS                  
RENSSELAER AIRPORT           0.68 IN    AWOS                 
RENSSELAER - IROQUOIS R.     0.56 IN    HADS                 

...LAKE COUNTY...              
HEBRON                       1.04 IN    CWOP                 
CROWN POINT                  0.91 IN    CWOP                 
HOBART                       0.90 IN    CWOP                 
MUNSTER                      0.75 IN    CWOP                 
1 N HAMMOND                  0.56 IN    URBANET              
1 NNW LAKE STATION           0.55 IN    AWS                  
MUNSTER                      0.54 IN    CWOP                           
MUNSTER                      0.52 IN    URBANET                            

...NEWTON COUNTY...
ROSELAWN                     0.96 IN    CWOP                 
FORESMAN - IROQUOIS R.       0.86 IN    HADS                 

...PORTER COUNTY...
HEBRON                       1.49 IN    AWS                  
KOUTS                        1.38 IN    CWOP                 
VALPARAISO AIRPORT           1.35 IN    ASOS                 
VALPARAISO                   1.12 IN    COCORAHS             
1 ESE VALPARAISO             1.12 IN    AWS                  
HEBRON 1 W                   1.11 IN    COCORAHS             
CHESTERTON                   0.89 IN    CWOP                 
HEBRON                       0.88 IN    CWOP                 
DUNE ACRES RAWS              0.80 IN    RAWS                 
PORTAGE                      0.78 IN    CWOP                 
OGDEN DUNES                  0.65 IN    CWOP                 

Additional Information

Links:

• Central Illinois Event Summary  (NWS Central Illinois)
• NWS Chicago Past Events Page