The 1990 Plainfield tornado was a devastating
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
that occurred on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 28, 1990. The violent tornado killed 29 people and injured 353.
It is the only
F5/EF5 rated tornado ever recorded in August in the United States, and the only F5 tornado to strike the
Chicago area
The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hint ...
.
There are no known videos or photographs of the tornado itself; however, in 2011, a video surfaced online showing the
supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (s ...
that spawned the tornado. The Plainfield tornado was part of a small outbreak that produced several tornadoes in the
Northern United States
The Northern United States, commonly referred to as the American North, the Northern States, or simply the North, is a geographical or historical region of the United States.
History Early history
Before the 19th century westward expansion, the "N ...
and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada.
Atmospheric conditions
For late August standards, August 28 was a particularly warm and humid day. Temperatures reached into the low 90s °F (32–34 °C; about 11 °F or 6 °C warmer than the normal of 79 °F – 26 °C), but
dew point
The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will cond ...
s soared into the upper 70s °F (25–27 °C). The presence of such a high dew point did not necessarily predict a
severe thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
outbreak; the prior day, similar conditions existed in northern Illinois with the exception of a warmer mid level
troposphere
The troposphere is the first and lowest layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, and contains 75% of the total mass of the planetary atmosphere, 99% of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols, and is where most weather phenomena occur. From ...
. A warmer atmosphere inhibits the rising of surface air through the atmosphere; a requirement for
convective precipitation
In meteorology, the different types of precipitation often include the character, formation, or phase of the precipitation which is falling to ground level. There are three distinct ways that precipitation can occur. Convective precipitation is g ...
(precipitation resulting from humid surface air ascending to condense in a cooler
atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
above) to occur. This warmer air aloft can describe either (or both) weak
lapse rate
The lapse rate is the rate at which an atmospheric variable, normally temperature in Earth's atmosphere, falls with altitude. ''Lapse rate'' arises from the word ''lapse'', in the sense of a gradual fall. In dry air, the adiabatic lapse rate is ...
s, thus weak
instability
In numerous fields of study, the component of instability within a system is generally characterized by some of the outputs or internal states growing without bounds. Not all systems that are not stable are unstable; systems can also be mar ...
or a
capping inversion
A capping inversion is an elevated inversion layer that caps a convective planetary boundary layer.
The boundary layer is the part of the atmosphere which is closest to the ground. Normally, the sun heats the ground, which in turn heats the ...
.
The atmosphere on August 28 was significantly more unstable as the approach of a
low-pressure system
In meteorology, a low-pressure area, low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclement weather (such as cloudy, windy, with possible ...
from the northwest cooled the mid levels (and also caused dynamic lifting) as instability continued to build in the capped, muggy environment, although the wind fields (strong, but out of the west-northwest and unidirectional) were not suitable for significant tornadic development. As a result of the very high low-level temperature and dew point,
convective available potential energy
In meteorology, convective available potential energy (commonly abbreviated as CAPE), is the integrated amount of work that the upward (positive) buoyancy force would perform on a given mass of air (called an air parcel) if it rose vertically thr ...
(CAPE) values were in excess of 8,000 J/kg; generally, values of 1,500 J/kg are considered to be moderately unstable, whereas values of more than 4,000 J/kg are considered "extreme". The
lifted index
The lifted index (LI) is the temperature difference between the environment Te(p) and an air parcel lifted adiabatically Tp(p) at a given pressure height in the troposphere (lowest layer where most weather occurs) of the atmosphere, usually 500 ...
(LI), the dominant estimate of instability used at the time, was also extreme. Generally, an LI value of −6 °C or below readily supports severe thunderstorm development, but during the day the LI value ranged from −12 °C to −14 °C. Such extreme instability can lead to explosive thunderstorm development, very strong
updraft
In meteorology, an updraft is a small-scale current of rising air, often within a cloud.
Overview
Localized regions of warm or cool air will exhibit vertical movement. A mass of warm air will typically be less dense than the surrounding region, ...
s, and modulates the updraft to better enable
tornadogenesis
Tornadogenesis is the process by which a tornado forms. There are many types of tornadoes and these vary in methods of formation. Despite ongoing scientific study and high-profile research projects such as VORTEX, tornadogenesis is a volatile pro ...
.
Conditions were ripe for severe thunderstorm development, and with both low level and high level steering winds from the west-northwest, the
National Severe Storms Forecast Center
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a US government agency that is part of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), operating under the control of the National Weather Service (NWS), which in turn is part of the National Ocean ...
issued a
Severe Thunderstorm Watch
A severe thunderstorm watch ( SAME code: SVA) is a severe weather watch product issued by regional offices of weather forecasting agencies throughout the world when meteorological conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunders ...
for northern Illinois valid 1:30 p.m. through 8:00 p.m. CDT that night. The NSSFC predicted a
derecho
A ''derecho'' (, from es, derecho, link=no , 'straight') is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective system.
Derechos can cause hurri ...
-type event for later that night as rapidly developing thunderstorms along a cold front in
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
would be carried by the steering flow into the Chicago area. One of these storms developed
supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (s ...
ular characteristics south of
Rockford, steering 30 to 40 degrees to the right of prevailing steering winds. By now, mid-level steering winds had begun to veer, causing a wind profile slightly more favorable for tornadic development. This helped develop a high precipitation supercell.
The "HP" supercell produced multiple funnel sightings, hail damage, and damaging winds south of Rockford before heading southeast toward Will County and dropped a rain wrapped tornado. This is why many in the path did not see the actual tornado but more of a wall of water and dark clouds coming toward them. As the storm continued south it produced a swath of damage ranging from F1 to F5. The
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...
in
Rosemont, Illinois
Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,202. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that. Whi ...
, serving all of Central and Northern Illinois at the time, did not issue a Tornado Warning until 10 minutes after the tornado had hit Plainfield. Using the traditional radar technology at the time, until the installation of NEXRAD Doppler Radar, the storm had a well defined "hook echo" meaning the radar was picking up the wrapping of the rain around the circulation of the tornado.
Event summary
The tornado formed from a
supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (s ...
thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
, which initially formed in the vicinity of
Janesville in south central
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, shortly after 12 p.m. CDT. It produced a tornado near
Pecatonica, Illinois
Pecatonica is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Rockford, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,195 at the 2010 census, up from 1,997 in 2000.
History
The village was named after ...
in
Winnebago County, about west of Rockford, that touched down at about 1:42 p.m. CDT. That tornado did not last long; however, the storm continued to move southeast towards the
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
area, and spawned four short-lived, predecessor tornadoes in southwestern
Kane County, between 2:45 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. Within that time period, the storm also struck the
Aurora Municipal Airport in
Sugar Grove at about 3:05 p.m., lasting until 3:10 p.m., where propeller planes were flipped, and the control tower was evacuated, but no injuries were reported.
Continuing to move to the southeast, starting at about 3:15 p.m., the supercell spawned the principal tornado, touching down near
Oswego in
Kendall County, and rapidly strengthening into a F2 and F3 tornado as it approached
Will County
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
. The tornado traveled southeast into
Wheatland Township, Will County, near the Wheatland Plains subdivision, northwest of Plainfield. At 3:25 p.m. CDT in Wheatland Township, the tornado damaged nearly all of the homes in the Wheatland Plains subdivision where there were several injuries, including one child who had to be airlifted to
Loyola University Hospital in Maywood and later died of injuries. Twelve homes were destroyed in Wheatland Plains.
Past Wheatland Plains, the tornado continued to strengthen as it tore across open farmland, and reached F5 intensity in this area. A narrow swath of very intense ground scouring was observed, as mature corn crop was completely stripped from the ground, leaving nothing but bare soil behind. Several inches of topsoil were removed as well. As the tornado crossed
US-30, a 20-ton tractor-trailer was thrown more than half a mile from the road, killing the driver. Three other motorists were killed in this area as their vehicles were thrown from the road. Some cars were picked up and carried considerable distances through the air. It was determined that the tornado reached its peak strength in this area, and the F5 rating was based on the extreme ground scouring that occurred. Beyond this point, the ground scouring became less pronounced as the tornado weakened slightly as it approached Plainfield at high-end F4 intensity.
The tornado struck
Plainfield, Illinois
Plainfield is a village in Will and Kendall counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 44,762 at the 2020 census.
The village includes land in Will County's Plainfield and Wheatland townships, as well as Na-Au-Say and Oswego tow ...
, around 3:28 p.m. Around 3:30 p.m. the tornado directly struck the
Plainfield High School, killing three people, including a science teacher and two maintenance workers.
Students who had been out practicing for the fall football programs ran into the high school to take shelter a few minutes before the storm hit. After an alarm was pulled by a dean in the main office, the volleyball players preparing for a game in the gymnasium rushed to the nearest door and took shelter in the hallway. It has been reported that as soon as the last player was through the door, a coach quickly closed it, only for it to be immediately ripped back off by the storm. The gymnasium proceeded to fall apart and crash down, which filled the gap in the doorway. They took shelter in the same hallway as the football team, and once the tornado had passed, that was the only hallway left standing in the building.
The tornado then demolished the
Plainfield School District Administration building, where the wife of a custodian was killed. The tornado crossed
Route 59 (Division Street) and ripped into St. Mary Immaculate Church and school, claiming an additional 3 lives, including the principal of the school, a music teacher, and the son of the cook at the rectory. Fifty-five homes were destroyed in Plainfield itself, a few of which were swept away. A grocery store east of the high school was badly damaged. Gravestones in the nearby cemetery were toppled, and a metal dumpster was found wrapped around the top of a partially debarked tree. Damage in Plainfield was rated as high-end F4.
The storm then worked its way southeast towards the large city of
Joliet, damaging homes in the Crystal Lawns, Lily Cache and Warwick subdivisions and killing five more people: one in the Lily Cache subdivision of Plainfield, and two each in the Crystal Lawns and Warwick subdivisions; an additional three people would later succumb from injuries sustained during the storm. The tornado ripped through the Grand Prairie Elementary School (
Plainfield School District), causing significant damage. Observers watched from the doors at the
Louis Joliet Mall, as the tornado passed just southwest of them. Sixty-nine homes were destroyed in Crystal Lawns, 75 homes were destroyed in Peerless Estates, 55 homes were destroyed in Lily Cache, and 50 homes were destroyed in Warwick. Most of the homes in Peerless Estates and Warwick were newly built.
The tornado then moved towards
Crest Hill. At 3:38 p.m. the storm ripped through the Crest Hill Lakes Apartment complex, where it caused F3 damage and claimed another eight lives, destroying one apartment building and half of another apartment building.
Neither have been rebuilt. The tornado also ripped through the Colony West subdivision, destroying 12 townhomes, none of which have been rebuilt either. A married couple died while in their car on Cedarwood Drive outside the apartment complex. The tornado then destroyed three apartment buildings on Elizabeth Court. Three more homes were destroyed in Bridalwreath, southeast of Elizabeth Court. Homes were damaged on Arden Place, and two high tension wire structures were destroyed at Douglas Street and Palladium Drive West.
Further southeast, the tornado continued to lose strength and lifted near Woodlawn Avenue and Campbell Street in Joliet. The parent thunderstorm continued until it crossed over the Indiana border, where it dissipated around 4:30 p.m.
The Plainfield Tornado caused over $165 million worth of damage. As the storm tore through Plainfield, nine people were killed (one additional victim would die afterward, from
carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...
poisoning, while guarding his home after the storm). The remaining victims were from Joliet and Crest Hill. In all, a total of 29 people would die because of the tornado. A total of 353 people were also injured in storm. This was the deadliest tornado event in the region since the
1967 Oak Lawn tornado.
Aftermath
Tornado preparedness
The Plainfield Tornado challenged both meteorologists and citizens in terms of
tornado preparedness
The term "tornado preparedness" refers to safety precautions made before the arrival of and during a tornado. Historically, the steps taken have varied greatly, depending on location, or time remaining before a tornado was expected. For example, i ...
. Substantial safety measures have been enacted in the years following the tornado; among the improvements are frequent and regular tornado drills performed in schools.
After the tornado, meteorologists studying tornadic patterns in the area found that a major tornado (F3 or higher) strikes
Will County
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
about every 12 to 15 years. There have been no major tornadoes in the county since 1990. However, a F1 tornado swept through the historic Cathedral Area in the near west side of Joliet on April 20, 2004 (
Tornado outbreak of April 20, 2004
A destructive tornado outbreak devastated parts of the U.S. Upper Midwest on April 20, 2004. A total of 31 tornadoes formed in eastern Iowa, extending into northern and central Illinois and Indiana. A tornado that struck Utica, Illinois, Utica, Ill ...
). There was another tornado (EF0) in Plainfield in April 2007, that caused damage to a nursing home and a few homes. The twister lasted for three miles and ended up in Bolingbrook.
Deployment of NEXRAD
The development of
NEXRAD
NEXRAD or Nexrad (Next-Generation Radar) is a network of 160 high-resolution S-band Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service (NWS), an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the United ...
(Next Generation Radar) has contributed greatly to the ability of meteorologists to recognize tornadic activity. Whereas previous generations of radar could show only reflectivity data and no direct information on air flows, although tornadic supercells and tornadic signatures such as the
hook echo
A hook echo is a pendant or hook-shaped weather radar signature as part of some supercell thunderstorms. It is found in the lower portions of a storm as air and precipitation flow into a mesocyclone, resulting in a curved feature of reflectivity. ...
and bounded weak echo region (BWER) were identifiable, NEXRAD contained the ability to detect the wind speed and direction inside the storm. The ability to see rotation inside a storm on both the microscale (tornadic) and mesoscale (supercellular) measurements has allowed forecasters to issue severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings in more timely fashion and with a higher probability of detection.
Forecast criticism
In the months following the tornado, the National Weather Service was heavily criticized for providing no warning of the approaching tornado.
The NOAA Disaster Survey Report was highly critical of the forecast process within the Chicago office as well as coordination with local
spotter networks and the preparedness of these groups. Prior to 1990, the National Weather Service in Chicago was responsible for providing forecasts for the entire state of Illinois.
As the Chicago office was overwhelmed with its workload, no warnings were issued by the office until 2:32 p.m. – nearly an hour after the first tornado was sighted southeast of
Rockford. A second severe thunderstorm warning was issued almost an hour later at 3:23 p.m., but this provided no indication that a tornado was on the ground and did not mention the area where the tornado had tracked. No tornado warning was issued until after the tornado lifted. Even though the Chicago office had an "add-on" Doppler improvement that was developed in 1974, that device had been disabled by a lightning strike before the August 28 storm.
As a result of the lack of a warning, many meteorologists today refer to the "Plainfield Syndrome" as the idea that it's better to issue too many warnings and be wrong, than to miss one critical warning, as was the case for the Plainfield Tornado.
After the 1990 tornado, the National Weather Service reduced the Chicago office's workload by creating an office in
Romeoville, Illinois
Romeoville is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village is located southwest of Chicago on the Des Plaines River. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,863. It is located in the southwest suburban area of Chicago near I ...
in 1993, as well as in
Lincoln, Illinois
Lincoln is a city in Logan County, Illinois, United States. First settled in the 1830s, it is the only town in the United States that was named for Abraham Lincoln before he became president; he practiced law there from 1847 to 1859. Lincoln is ho ...
in 1995, and allowing offices in the Quad Cities,
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
,
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
and
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Missour ...
to issue forecasts for their respective areas.
Memorial Site
In the years following the disaster, a permanent Tornado Plainfield Victim Memorial located in
Plainfield, Illinois
Plainfield is a village in Will and Kendall counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 44,762 at the 2020 census.
The village includes land in Will County's Plainfield and Wheatland townships, as well as Na-Au-Say and Oswego tow ...
was erected thanking those who aided in its recovery. Each year, a dedication ceremony is held at this location where hundreds gather every year, including both survivors and victims family members. The 30th anniversary memorial was held at this location on August 28, 2020, as chuch bells rang at exactly 3:28 PM.
See also
*
Lists of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
These are some notable tornadoes, tornado outbreaks, and tornado outbreak sequences that have occurred around the globe.
# ''Exact death and injury counts are not possible; especially for large events and events before 1955.''
# ''Prior to 1950 in ...
**
List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
These are some notable tornadoes, tornado outbreaks, and tornado outbreak sequences that have occurred in North America.
#''The listing is U.S.-centric, with greater and more consistent information available for U.S. tornadoes. Some North Americ ...
*
List of tornado-related deaths at schools
These are all known tornadoes resulting in student deaths at primary and secondary schools in the United States from 1865 to 2015. For the deadliest tornado incidents, only fires/explosions and bombings have killed more students.
List
* August ...
Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:1990 Plainfield Tornado
Plainfield Tornado
Plainfield Tornado
Plainfield Tornado
F5 tornadoes
Kendall County, Illinois
Plainfield, Illinois
Tornadoes in Illinois
Plainfield Tornado
Will County, Illinois