April 9 marks the seventh anniversary of deadly Rochelle-Fairdale tornado

FAIRDALE, Ill. (WIFR) - Seven tornadoes touched down across a portion of northern Illinois on April 9, 2015, with one tornado being on the ground for more than 30 miles and killing two people.

The Rochelle-Fairdale tornado was rated an EF-4 by the National Weather Service with peak winds of 200 miles per hour that killed two people, Geraldine Schultz and Jacklyn Klosa in Fairdale and injured 22 other people.

The NWS says it was the strongest tornado in northern Illinois in 25 years since the EF-5 tornado that killed 29 people in Will County and damaged a big portion of Plainfield on August 28, 1990.

From the initial reports on that day from the NWS about the Rochelle-Fairdale Tornado the report states:

“THIS LONG-TRACKED VIOLENT TORNADO DESTROYED NUMEROUS HOMES AND FARMSTEADS...AS WELL AS TOSSED VEHICLES...ALONG ITS PATH FROM NORTH CENTRAL LEE COUNTY ACROSS EASTERN OGLE...NORTHWEST DEKALB...INTO EXTREME SOUTHERN BOONE COUNTY. THIS INCLUDED ACROSS THE FAR NORTHWEST SIDE OF ROCHELLE...ACROSS INTERSTATE 39...AND DIRECTLY THROUGH FAIRDALE.”

The other tornadoes in the region that day were:

• Cherry Valley (EF-0)
  • NWS Report: “AN EMERGENCY MANAGER AND TRAINED SPOTTERS PHOTOGRAPHED A TORNADO THAT TOUCHED DOWN SOUTH OF CHERRY VALLEY. THE TORNADO DID NOT PRODUCE ANY DAMAGE.”
• Eastern Ogle (EF-0)
  • NWS Report: “THIS BRIEF SATELLITE TORNADO OVER FAR EASTERN OGLE COUNTY WAS CONFIRMED USING AERIAL SURVEY INFORMATION AND RADAR DATA.”
• Kirkland-Belvidere (EF-1)
  • NWS Report: “THIS TORNADO PATH WAS IDENTIFIED USING STORM CHASER VIDEO...GROUND SURVEY AND AERIAL SURVEY INFORMATION. THE TORNADO FORMED IN FAR NORTHWEST DEKALB COUNTY AND LIFTED IN FAR SOUTHERN BOONE COUNTY.”
• South of Belvidere (EF-0)
  • NWS Report: “THIS TORNADO WAS SPAWNED BY THE SAME STORM THAT PRODUCED THE LONG TRACK EF-4 SHORTLY AFTER THAT TORNADO LIFTED.”
• Garden Prairie (EF-1)
  • NWS Report: “THIS TORNADO WAS SPAWNED BY THE SAME STORM THAT PRODUCED THE LONG TRACK EF-4 SHORTLY AFTER THAT TORNADO LIFTED.”
• Hartland (EF-1)
  • NWS Report: “THIS BRIEF TORNADO SNAPPED AND UPROOTED 6 TO 7 TREES AT A PROPERTY ON MCGUIRE ROAD SOUTHEAST OF HARVARD THEN CAUSED MINOR TREE DAMAGE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE ROAD BEFORE ENDING.”

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