Brief tornado touched down in suburban Naperville during Thursday outbreak

National Weather Service teams are still evaluating tornado touchdowns from Thursday’s severe weather outbreak, and a brief twister touched down in Naperville.

According to the latest updates from the NWS, the EF-0 tornado touched down in Naperville and traveled into far-western Lisle before lifting back into the sky Thursday night.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries related to the tornado, but an investigation remains underway.

Teams from NWS are still traveling around the Chicago area evaluating potential tornado touchdowns during Thursday’s severe weather outbreak, which knocked out power to thousands of residents and caused damage in numerous locations. Crews are investigating several reports of damage in the city of Chicago itself, and are evaluating areas near and south of the Kankakee River in Indiana, according to their latest updates.

NWS officials are using the Enhanced Fujita Scale, or EF Scale, to illustrate the strength of tornadoes. The scale estimates tornado strength by using damage signatures and Doppler radar images to estimate the maximum wind speeds achieved by tornadoes.

An EF-3 tornado can have wind gusts of up to 165 miles per hour, while EF-1 tornadoes are between 86 and 110 miles per hour, according to officials.

During Thursday’s storm, numerous damaging tornadoes touched down, especially in northwest Indiana, where an EF-3 tornado touched down in Hebron and traveled to Kouts, according to officials.

Another EF-2 tornado touched down in Merrillville in Lake County, traveling over to Hobart and damaging structures and property throughout the area.

In Illinois, an EF-3 tornado was confirmed in Streator, one of several that touched down in the state. Closer to the Chicago area, an EF-1 tornado impacted areas near Dwight, and another EF-1 tornado touched down in suburban Bartlett during Thursday’s storms, officials said.

A brief EF-1 tornado touched down in Kenosha County in Wisconsin according to officials, heavily damaging multiple barn buildings according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

There was also extensive straight-line wind damage across the area, with some gusts in excess of 70 miles per hour reported as the storms roared through the region on Thursday.

Damage assessments remain ongoing, and all findings of wind speed and tornado strength are considered preliminary at this time, according to NWS officials.

from NBC Chicago https://ift.tt/xv0S5DH