SALEM – The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado ripped through the Salem area Friday night, leaving a six-mile patch of damage and destruction in its path.
The twister is estimated as an EF0 to EF1, with wind speeds reaching about 105 miles an hour when it hit the area of the Casey’s General Store on south Route 37.
Officials tracked the path of the tornado from the Salem Fire Training Station on Selmaville Road, then headed through Andrews Court to Interstate 57, on to the South Broadway-West Lake Street area where dozens of homes and businesses were damaged.
Preliminary estimates from the City of Salem says at least 40 homes were damaged by Friday night’s tornado.
Salem Mayor Nic Farley issued a press release Sunday announcing a cleanup plan for the tornado aftermath.
Residents are asked to separate debris into three piles and place it at the curbside for pickup. One pile should be for wood and sticks, a second for metal objects, and a third for everything else.
The city will be developing a plan for pickup of debris early this week.
Farley also announced a Town Hall meeting has been scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday to try and match volunteers with those in need of assistance from tornado damage.
The same string of thunderstorms that created the Salem tornado moved on to the Crawford County area Friday night where tornadoes struck the City of Robinson and claimed three lives.
Eight others in Robinson were injured in the storm and the Robinson Airport was heavily damaged.
Governor JB Pritzker has issued a disaster proclamation for multiple counties in Illinois hit by tornadoes Friday night, including Marion and Crawford counties.
The Governor signed the declaration on his first stop touring some of the damaged areas of the state in Belvidere.
An F1 tornado is being blamed for a partial roof collapse at the historic Apollo Theatre in Belvidere where a concert was was being held. Priztker says one person was killed, 48 were treated at the hospital and five remain in critical condition.
In addition to Marion County, Crawford County and Belvidere, the declaration also covers Sangamon County where touchdowns were reported in Sherman, Riverton, and Dawson. Another tornado touched down in the Chicago suburb of Addison in DuPage County.
Another storm system will bring the threat for severe weather Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night. Large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes are possible.
