Surveyors confirmed that 10 tornadoes touched down in the Chicagoland area Tuesday, including one in Mundelein where an apartment building was heavily damaged and 59 people were displaced.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued tornado warnings for Lake, Cook and McHenry counties on Tuesday evening.
The warning went into effect around 7:15 p.m. and expired around 7:45 p.m. but was extended for Lake and Cook counties until 8:30 p.m.
The NWS warned about thunderstorms moving to the northeast capable of producing a tornado.
Radar-indicated rotation was reported, prompting the tornado warning. High wind gusts, heavy rain and large hail were reported.
The NWS Chicago said early Wednesday morning they were sending out three survey teams to identify potential tornadoes from the storms.
The teams were being sent out to the northwest suburbs, western Chicago suburbs into southern DeKalb County, southeast Cook County, southwest Kane County, southern DeKalb County and Lee County.
The NWS announced Wednesday evening their surveyors confirmed 10 tornadoes struck the northern Illinois area. All of the tornadoes ranged from EF-0 to EF-1.
The locations included Geneva, South Barrington, Mundelein, Inverness, Hoffman Estates, Sugar Grove to Batavia, Elburn to Campton Hills, Compton, Waterman and Hinckley to Big Rock.
The Mundelein tornado was determined to be an EF-1. The NWS has not released the path of it.
“We will provide survey details including path length, path width, and estimated peak wind speeds later this evening,” the weather service said.
The Mundelein Fire Department and Mundelein Police Department were called around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday to the Washington Apartments, 32 Washington Boulevard in Mundelein, for a report of a structural collapse incident.
Mundelein Fire Chief Bill Lark initially said at the scene that a suspected microburst removed part of the roof of the building.
The damage occurred to a 30 by 30 section of the roof on the southwest corner of the structure, Lark said.
A large section of brick facade on the same corner collapsed onto the ground. A tree was also uprooted in front of the building and debris was scattered throughout the area.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to the box alarm level for a structural collapse response.
The alarm activation brought numerous area fire departments and specialized equipment to the scene to check the building.
The Lincolnshire, Countryside, Wauconda, Newport, North Chicago, Libertyville, Round Lake, Lake Bluff, Deerfield, Lake Forest, Gurnee, Buffalo Grove and Lake Zurich assisted the Mundelein Fire Department at the scene.
Lark said the building was deemed to be structurally sound but not inhabitable for residents.
Approximately 59 residents from 21 units were displaced from the building.
The American Red Cross was contacted and responded to the scene to help the residents with housing arrangements.
Some of the displaced residents had other family members in the area and others were put in hotels, Lark said.
Fire crews escorted residents back into and out of the building to get their necessary belongings, such as medications and clothing.
A child suffered minor injuries after a piece of drywall from the ceiling came down and struck him in the head, Lark said.
The child did not require transport to the hospital.
A second person reporting arm pain from being struck by a piece of drywall was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
A man at the scene told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that he was messaging his daughter, who lives in one of the affected apartment units, when the collapse occurred.
“I had been messaging her from the Grayslake library saying go to the basement. She messaged back saying there is no basement,” he said.
“I said then get away from the windows and she went in the closet and everything burst. The patio door, the windows, everything burst outward. Part of her kitchen roof collapsed. Thank god she’s fine,” the man added.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Lake County Tuesday evening, which had just expired when the incident occurred.