The Chicago Tornadoes – April 21, 1967

| April 20, 2008 @ 11:19 pm | 8 Replies

April 21, 1967 dawned cloudy and cool in the Chicago area. Weather maps that day showed strong low pressure over northern Minnesota with a warm front lifting through Illinois. The U.S. Weather Bureau saw signs of trouble and began issuing tornado watches as early as 10:30 a.m. Tornadoes started popping across Missouri, but the real action would late until after noon.

About 3:50 p.m., an F4 tornado roared into the town of Belvidere, Illinois. Students at the elementary school had already been transported home on buses, but high school students were loading as the horrible twister roared across the building. Twelve of the buses were overturned by the winds. Students were blown through an adjacent field and makeshift stretchers were formed from plywood from nearby houses and doors from the school. Thirteen students were killed and 300 injured, making it the sixth deadliest school tornado disaster in U.S. history. Another school bus was destroyed near Harvard, Illinois as the driver and students took shelter in a ditch.

The worst tornado of the day occurred at Oak Lawn, Illinois about 5:30 p.m. where 33 people were killed. Many were killed in their cars as the tornado struck at rush hour on the south side of Chicago, including twelve at one intersection. Several children were killed at a skating rink and other people died under the collapsing walls of a supermarket.

A total of forty four tornadoes struck the area from Missouri and Iowa through Illinois and Michigan during the outbreak, including at least six F3 twisters. A total of 58 people perished. It is the worst tornado disaster in Chicagoland history.

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Bill Murray is the President of The Weather Factory. He is the site's official weather historian and a weekend forecaster. He also anchors the site's severe weather coverage. Bill Murray is the proud holder of National Weather Association Digital Seal #0001 @wxhistorian

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