Chicago Area Local News

(CBS) The warm weather was delivered with a steep price in the Chicago area and southeastern Wisconsin. A number of damaging tornadoes touched down Monday evening in the tiny town of Poplar Grove, in Boone County; and in Harvard, in McHenry County; and across the state line in Kenosha County, Wis.

As CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports from Wheatland, Wis., rescue workers and police crews were still out all over Kenosha County Monday night. One tornado took out much of a subdivision, making that area off-limits as crews worked to make sure everyone was safe.

Hours after the winter tornado hit Kenosha County rescue workers were still trying to get a handle on the devastation.

"I've never seen devastation like that here in Kenosha County," said Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth. "I've never seen homes that have been destroyed like this, and not just one or two. I've seen at least 10 or 12 homes in one area that are just leveled. And we have several pockets, several subdivisions where homes are seriously damaged or destroyed.

The twister barreled down on the rural Wisconsin town of Wheatland around 4 p.m. Monday, even taking a sheriff's officer stopped on the side of the road by surprise.

"While he was out I heard on the radio of him hollering that the house next to him was just leveled," Beth said. "So, from what I've been told, debris from the house actually struck him and the squad car…"

Wheatland wasn't the only area hit. One man captured on home video a tornado in Kenosha that cut a path of destruction.

For now, darkness blankets much of the damage. But for families left with almost nothing, the shock is likely just setting in.

Beth says at least two people were in their basements when the tornado hit and were literally pulled out from under the debris. So far, there have been no reports of fatalities and while some injuries were reported, they were minor. Rescue crews say it is amazing that nobody was killed.

In Illinois a tornado touched down in Boone County, about 70 miles northwest of Chicago.

The twister knocked down trees and power lines in Poplar Grove, Ill. One place hit the hardest is Edwards Apple Orchard, a favorite tourist site. The family was home at the time; their place suffered a lot of damage but nobody was hurt.

"In a situation like this -- the thing that comes immediately to the top of your priorities is family and their well being -- and so everything that's important to me is fine -- the buildings can be rebuilt," Ken Hall of Edwards Apple Orchard said.

The storm that ran through Poplar Grove left three people with minor injuries, said Boone County Sheriff's Lt. Perry Gay. Six or seven homes were destroyed; a number of sheds and barns were destroyed as well, but Gay did not know how many.

A sheriff's deputy spotted a tornado on the ground at about 3:30 p.m. about 1 1/2 miles north of Poplar Grove, Gay said. According to the 2006 Census, the village has about 3,500 residents.

"Had the tornado been a little bit south, it would have been smack dab in the middle of the village, which also has a lot of businesses," Gay said. "We were very fortunate it hit on the outskirts."

Rescue crews planned to spend Monday night making sure no one was trapped in debris, but authorities believe the destroyed houses were unoccupied when the tornado struck, Gay said.

Authorities also had to help people who were in trapped cars surrounded by live electrical wires, Gay said. Numerous roads were closed because of downed trees and electrical wires, he said.

Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said no one was injured when seven freight cars derailed Monday in Harvard in McHenry County.

One tank car, which was leaking Monday night, contained shock fluid, Davis said. Another tank car that ended up on its side contained ethylene oxide, a flammable material widely used to sterilize medical supplies, but a Union Pacific manager on the scene determined that tank was not leaking, Davis said.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of about 500 residents in the nearby unincorporated town of Lawrence because of the potential for a hazardous materials situation, said Capt. David Shepherd with the McHenry County sheriff's office. No injuries were reported, he said.

The other five derailed cars on the train headed to Janesville, Wis., from North Lake contained auto parts, Davis said.

Bill Lischka saw the tornado form as he sat drinking coffee at the Boone County Family Restaurant in Caledonia, near Poplar Grove.

"A tornado just popped right out of the clouds," he said. "Just a classic twister."

Lischka said the funnel looked like "a snake dangling" as it wove its way north and east. He didn't see the tornado touch down but said he has heard about damage to several businesses and homes.

The last time a tornado touched down in January in north-central or northeastern Illinois was Jan. 25, 1950, according to the National Weather Service.

That tornado hit Manteno, in Kankakee County, about 50 miles south of Chicago.

On that day in 1950, the air was warm and moist, and Chicago hit a high of 67 degrees, weather very similar to what Illinois experienced Monday, said NWS meteorologist Eric Lenning.

Northern Illinois is usually free of tornadoes in the winter because colder, more arctic air sits over the region, Lenning said. Tornadoes need warmer temperatures and moist air for support, conditions located much farther south in the wintertime.

But for the last couple of days, "we've had spring-like weather. That's when we'd normally expect this kind of (severe) weather," Lenning said.

Temperatures are expected to get back to normal quickly, with flurries possible for the Chicago area by Tuesday night.

CBS 2's Dana Kozlov and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

cbs2chicago.com's Most Popular Pages
 Slideshow: The Rise Of Barack Obama
 Slideshow: '90s TV Stars Then & Now
 Slideshow: What A Way To Go
 Slideshow: In To Be Out: Gay Celebrities
 Slideshow: Did You Know? Stars From Chicago!

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)