A northern Illinois man has died after being struck by a tree during a powerful Midwestern storm, raising the death toll for the regional storms to four.
Peoria County’s coroner says 31-year-old David A. Johnson of Ottawa died Wednesday of severe head trauma at a Peoria hospital. Harwood says Johnson was working in a backyard with his spouse and father-in-law Tuesday when the storm uprooted a tree that landed on all three. Johnson’s 76-year-old father-in-law, Wayne Tuntland, died at the scene. Johnson’s spouse was treated and released from a hospital.
The weather service rated Tuesday’s tornado, which caused severe damage from the tornado that hit the south side of Ottawa and the nearby village of Naplate as an EF-3, with wind speeds of up to 155 miles per hour.
An EF-1 tornado was reported near the northern Illinois town of Oregon. Straight line winds of around 80 mph following the tornado caused additional damage.
Seventy-one-year-old Thomas McCord also died Tuesday when an apparent tornado struck an outbuilding where he sought shelter just south of Crossville in extreme southeast Illinois. His wife was injured and taken to an area hospital. The tornado path near Crossville is four to five miles long.
Governor Bruce Rauner toured the storm damage in the Crossville area on Thursday after visiting the Ottawa area on Wednesday. The National Weather Service rated many of the tornadoes that crossed the state from Perryville, Missouri on the Mississippi River to White County on the Indiana border as EF-2 to EF-3 on the 0 to 5 scale.
In Missouri, officials say 24-year-old Travis Koenig of Perryville was killed when a tornado blew his vehicle off Interstate 55. Forecasters say the tornado, which damaged more than 100 homes, had wind speeds between 139 mph and 165 mph.
The Tuesday tornadoes came on the five-year anniversary of the tornado that struck Harrisburg, leaving eight people dead and destroying dozens of homes and businesses.
by WJBD Radio
Posted on 3/2/2017 2:55 PM
