You can read MORE paranormal stories on our website atCLICK HERE
Below are a few local paranormal stories that were sent to us.
Turn the lights down, kick back and throw your feet up, enjoy!
#1 At the beginning of April, I had the thought it’d be fun to drive past bloods point cemetery and bridge with my friend. I didn’t know which direction each thing was so I turned down the road and kept driving. I started to hear a thumping noise only to find out I got a flat tire. By the time I pulled over, I was directly across from the cemetery. I immediately called triple a to come out and help. As we were waiting my radio went completely static. And then after about 20 minutes of sitting with my blinkers on, my car died. Which seemed super fast but I’m no expert on cars so I’m thinking something paranormal was going on. An hour and a half of waiting later, triple a finally showed up. They changed my tired and tried to give me a jump. But for some reason, my car just would not start. It’s like something was keeping us there. We had no choice but to call my friends parents to come and help. We waited another half hour and they finally came. When they got there they tried to figure out what was wrong but we couldn’t figure it out. So, that led to it being towed. Being a minor, I left the scene with the adults so I wasn’t stuck there alone at 10pm at night across from a creepy cemetery that I strongly believe caused these issues. Still to this day, my car is having problems and I think it’s going to die at any point. I refuse to go back again. ~ Marissa P.
#2If you fish you may know of the cemetery & old dam in Rockton. One evening we decided to go night fishing there. We arrived at the cemetery, you have to walk through the cemetery to reach the walkway across the river. As we were walking through the cemetery, I felt something odd happening like someone was standing right in front of me and they were looking me up and down. After a second I see a beach ball sized orb of brilliant neon blue light rise from a really old grave. I knew it was a male , and it wasn’t as surprised as much as I was startled. The ball of light hung about 5 foot off the ground there and was just watching me for around 5-10 seconds. It was enough time for my brother to ask me “ What the Hell are you doing?” My brother was right next to me as this happened, I said you don’t see it? He said “ See what? You must be stoned!” I wasn’t. I hadn’t even had a beer that day. After ten seconds the ball of blue light just folded in on itself & disappeared. ~ Anonymous
#3 This dates back to the late 80s early 90s during the U46 teacher strike and a week before the old elgin watch factory burned to the ground. Due to the strike kids of working parents were being cared for at the Old Elgin High School. During my stay there, there were frequent power fluctuations and on one particular day a ghost sighting. The fire alarm had gone off and as we were evacuating to the playground I looked at the building and saw an all white old woman looking out the window of the 3rd floor. I asked my friends if they could see her too and they were able to as well. I didn’t think much of it until I told my Mom about it and she told me the floor of the 3rd floor had been removed because it had buckled. The next day my friends and I investigated and found all the stairwells locked and the dust on them undisturbed. The fire had been in the elevator shaft which had been inoperable as well.
I also had forgotten my doll there one night and the next day every electronic item I sat it by turned on lamp, hair dryer etc… ~ Anonymous
100 STRONG was formed in January of 2016 by a handful of bold men that made the call to ALL concerned men in Rockford that realize that we have no right to complain about the problems that’s going on in Rockford if all we’re gonna do is open our mouth but not be willing to lift a finger to help towards a solution. This call to action was a response to the several deaths, shootings and chaotic state of mind of the Rockford Youth.
Learn more at http://100strong-rockford.com/about/
They held a fundraiser event on Saturday August 17th 2019 in the afternoon at their safe house at 4111 Auburn, Across from the Auburn Manor.
They are a non profit organization that helps the community. The fundraiser on Saturday was to help with funding the young bull athletics team. All donations go towards transporting the children to and from games and practice, equipment, referees, etc. Also for our community center that keeps our youth out of the streets and helps them and their families when in need .
They had delicious chicken sandwich’s and a pop for a few bucks.
We highly recommend you trying their chicken sandwich’s!
We sat down and talked with one of the board members of the 100 Strong, Danny B Worley. He describes what 100 Strong is, how they help the community, their goals and how they started, etc… Take a few minutes and watch the interview below.
100 Strong’s primary mission is to educate, mentor and support programming that advances the positive interests of youth throughout Rockford.
100 STRONG is a grassroots organization consisting of men and women with a common goal of helping our community by teaching, mentoring, empowering, and uplifting our youth.
The members of 100 Strong are devoted to improving the quality of life for African-Americans-particular young males-through programs focusing on positive social interaction, economic empowerment, mentoring and education. We seek to serve as a beacon of leadership by utilizing our diverse talents to create an environment where our children are motivated to achieve and to empower our young people to become self-sufficient shareholders in the economic and social fabric of the communities we serve. We do this by coordinating our efforts and by focusing attention on systemic issues that impede African Americans from achieving a higher quality of life.
Some of our main objectives in this Safe House are:
1) Crime reduction by providing skills and an open work environment.
2) Illiteracy reduction by introducing non-traditional avenues of learning and education.
3) Neighborhood development by inspiring community members with a renowned sense of self-worth, self-pride
and self-esteem.
4) Increasing positive social interaction by providing a place where youth can freely resolve peer conflicts in
a safe and loving environment.
If each one can reach one to teach one we can change our community!
Contact them at 100strongmen@gmail.com
or stop on in at 4111 Auburn st, across from Auburn Manor
From Mercy Health: What is MD-1?
We get asked this a lot!
Mercyhealth MD-1 is 24/7/365 physician staffed prehospital response vehicle available to respond with EMS and assist with patients for 15 counties in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois (Rock County, Walworth County, Rockford area). The MD-1 program launched in 2013 has grown to four response vehicles staffed by an EMS medical director, Dr. Jay MacNeal, and seven associate medical directors: Drs. Chris Wistrom, Todd Daniello, Sean Marquis, John Pakiela, Matt Smetana, Jen Gibson-Chambers, and Mitch Sheley.
MD-1 physicians support EMS providers with bedside teaching, training and physician response to critical patients.
All MD-1 physicians have served in fire, EMS or law enforcement at some point during their careers. The physicians also staff our emergency departments to retain their skill set and work on the receiving end of our EMS system.
MD-1 carries equipment and medications not routinely carried or even allowed on paramedic ambulances. Ultrasound, chest tubes, central lines, an amputation kit and junctional tourniquets are just some of the extra equipment carried.
MD-1 does not bill the patient or EMS agency. It transports with EMS to the nearest appropriate destination, and when requested to respond, works with all EMS providers regardless of their medical direction.
Pictured below are MD-1 physicians, Drs. Marquis and Sheley at Country Thunder Music Festival Twin Lakes WI where they provided medical care alongside Medix Ambulance Service crews to festival goers, onsite. This onsite care helped reduce the burden on the local emergency departments where the majority of patients were treated and released, instead of transported to the emergency department.
Why do people comment, without reading the article?
So I have noticed this A LOT lately. People comment on a title, other than then the factual content in an article. You can tell they haven’t clicked on to read the article. Because the comments are no where near what actually happened, that clearly states what happened in the article.
A good example and as to why I am thinking about this right now.
Burger King on 11th st was robbed earlier tonight. Admin Will went to go work the scene for me. Thank you Will, Much appreciated! The police parked their vehicles next door at Auto Zone. See the photo below.
People are commenting and thinking it is Auto Zone, based on the photo posted that shows all the police parked at Auto Zone. Based on their comments, you can clearly see they did not take 2 seconds to click the link and read and CLEARLY read that it was Burger King that was robbed.
All these people do is make themselves look bad by commenting with bad info. SMH………………
I ask that everyone please take a second and please click on the link and actually READ the content, before making comments.
Rockford MUFON Meeting
Saturday JUNE 22nd, 2019
Open to the Public
Cherry Valley Library
755 East State Street
Cherry Valley, Illinois 61016
Saturday JUNE 22nd, 2019
10:00AM to 1:00PM
Mysteries in the Fields
Throughout the Midwest and the World, unusual formations have appeared in a variety of crops most commonly wheat. Many of them are the result of weather related phenomenon or other obvious rational explanations, yet some on the other hand remain a mystery.
On Saturday, JUNE 22nd, 2019 at the Cherry Valley Library, the Rockford MUFON Chapter will be hosting a presentation by
David Finkbeiner, MUFON CFI
on this very topic. Highlighted will be a number of accounts that he has personally investigated along with those of his long time friend and mentor who is a renown Investigative Researcher in this field.
Again, this meeting is open to the public and there is no charge.
Today marks the 4 year anniversary of the devastating EF-4 tornado that ripped through the areas of Rochelle, Fairdale, etc…
The 2015 Rochelle–Fairdale, Illinois tornado was an extremely violent and long-lived tornado that tore through the communities near Rochelle and in Fairdale, Illinois throughout the evening hours of April 9, 2015.
Part of a larger severe weather event that impacted the Central United States, the tornado first touched down in Lee County at 6:39 p.m. CDT (22:39 UTC). It progressed through the counties of Ogle, DeKalb, and Boone before finally dissipating at 7:20 p.m. CDT.
Along the tornado’s 30.14 mi (48.51 km) path, numerous structures were heavily damaged or destroyed, especially in the small town of Fairdale where two fatalities and eleven injuries were recorded.
A few well-constructed homes were swept completely away, indicative of peak winds near 200 mph (320 km/h), the upper bounds of an EF4 tornado.
In the aftermath of the event, hundreds of citizens assisted in cleanup and recovery efforts. Economic losses from the tornado reached $19 million (2015 USD).
The strongest tornado in the United States during 2015 first began at 6:39 p.m. CDT (23:39 UTC) on April 9, just northeast of Franklin Grove, Illinois. It touched down over a field, producing swirls in crops, before moving northeast and causing EF1 damage to the Crest Foods plant.
The tornado soon exited Lee County and entered Ogle County, inflicting EF1 damage to two farm outbuildings that were completely destroyed and EF0 damage to a similar structure that had a portion of its roof uplifted.
Intensifying to EF3 strength, much more severe damage was noted along South Skare Court as the tornado entered an area of semi-rural subdivisions to the northwest of Rochelle.
A few homes in this area were destroyed at EF3 intensity, with other homes nearby sustaining EF2 damage. One large house had a room ripped off on its second floor, while a split-level home was almost completely leveled.[13]
As the tornado crossed South Richard Road, it intensified to very high-end EF4 strength and inflicted catastrophic damage to several large homes as it impacted the Deer Creek subdivision.
Well-built homes along South Richard Road and East Kuehl Court were leveled and swept from their foundations with debris strewn downwind. Several vehicles parked at these residences were moved some distance or tossed, and wind rowing of debris occurred.
One house had its concrete walkway pulled a few inches from its original location, and notable scouring of lawn grass was observed in the subdivision. These structures were estimated to have been impacted by winds near 200 mph (320 km/h), the upper bound of an EF4 tornado.
The homes swept away in this area were bolted to their foundations and there is some speculation that the tornado may have reached EF5 intensity at this point, though close inspection revealed that some of the washers were missing from the anchor bolts, and that low-lying shrubbery near the homes was left mostly intact, preventing a higher rating.
Continuing northeast, the tornado temporarily weakened, producing EF2 to EF3 damage as it destroyed a few large barns or outbuildings, ripped the roof off two brick residences, and collapsed most walls of another house, but once again gained strength as it approached and crossed Illinois Route 64. A large restaurant and a residence had their exterior walls collapsed in this area.[13]
A reinforced concrete silo that was completely destroyed by the tornado.
Very high-end EF4 damage was again observed near the intersection of Illinois Route 64 and Illinois Route 251, where a row of five homes was completely leveled, two of which were swept away.
Anchor bolts were again present at these residences, though the foundations were of cinder-block construction. Intense ground scouring was evident nearby, a car was thrown a full mile, and debris was wind-rowed long distances through fields in this area.
Winds were again estimated at around 200 mph (320 km/h), with the damage at this location again being near-EF5 in intensity. Further to the northeast, the tornado inflicted high-end EF4 damage as a large farmstead was completely destroyed.
A well-constructed barn was completely obliterated, and a 40 ft (12 m) reinforced concrete silo was reduced to a pile of rubble. A large farmhouse on the property was completely swept away, and nearby trees were severely stripped and debarked.
The tornado weakened as it crossed North Moore Road, where a warehouse building had a collapse of its non-bearing exterior walls. One small barn or outbuilding had a collapse of exterior walls while another had a few metal roof panels ripped off. After crossing Interstate 39, it caused moderate roof damage to a large residence and tossed and rolled a heavy barn.
The tornado continued to produce generally EF1 damage to trees and outbuildings before exiting Ogle County, and it was briefly accompanied by an EF0 satellite tornado that damaged crops to its southeast.[13]
After entering DeKalb County, the large tornado directly impacted the small community of Fairdale.
Approximately 71 homes sustained some degree of damage, including 13 that were destroyed. Several houses on the northwest side of town sustained damage consistent with an upper-end EF3 tornado, with all walls collapsed. A few houses that were nailed to the foundation—not bolted—were swept clean.
A 67-year-old woman and her 69-year-old neighbor were both killed in their homes, and an additional 11 people were injured throughout the town.
Continuing northeast across Wheeler Road, one residence had a large portion of its roof ripped off, a second residence had its exterior walls collapsed, and a two-story 80-year-old well-constructed barn was destroyed.
A large garage was destroyed and had its debris deposited well downstream, and significant denuding and debarking of trees was evident. Near the intersection of Irene Road and McNeal Road, a well-built seven-year-old house lost its second story and many exterior walls.
A two-story well-built barn with cinder block attachment was totally destroyed, and a nearby two-story rebar-reinforced cinder block silo was ripped apart.
Large farm equipment was tossed 0.25–0.5 mi (0.40–0.80 km), and convergent scouring of road pavement was noted in this area.
After passing over rural terrain, the tornado finally dissipated at 7:20 p.m. CDT (00:20 UTC) over Cherry Valley Road, ending its 30.14 mi (48.51 km) and 41-minute path of destruction.[13]
Fast Facts
Eleven tornadoes were confirmed across Illinois: seven in north central Illinois in the NWS Chicago County Warning Area (CWA), two in northwest Illinois in the NWS Quad Cities CWA, and two in central Illinois in the NWS Lincoln CWA.
Six of the tornadoes across north central Illinois formed from one supercell thunderstorm. This includes the strongest tornado that was a long track EF-4 with maximum winds of 200 mph. This tornado began from near Franklin Grove (Lee County), through the northwest side of Rochelle (Ogle County), across I-39, through Fairdale (DeKalb County), and ending south of Belvidere (far southern Boone County). This tornado caused two fatalities, both in Fairdale, and a total of 22 injuries.
A tornado of this magnitude is quite rare. This was the first EF-4 or stronger tornado in the NWS Chicago County Warning Area in 25 years, since an F5 tornado struck Plainfield on August 28, 1990. This was the strongest tornado on record (since 1950) for both Ogle and DeKalb Counties.
This was the first EF-4 tornado or stronger in Illinois since two EF-4 tornadoes occurred on November 17, 2013, including one that struck the community of Washington. This was the 33rd EF-4 or stronger tornado in Illinois on record (since 1950).
The atmosphere was ripe for severe weather due to highly anomalous moisture and instability for early April across the region. A strong low pressure system advanced into this favorable air mass. Combined with robust wind shear, this helped to trigger these potent storms.
The potential for severe weather was mentioned in NWS forecast graphics and products as early as Saturday, April 4th.
NWS DAMAGE SURVEY RESULTS FOR 04/09/15 TORNADO EVENT...
NWS METEOROLOGISTS HAVE NOW CONFIRMED SEVEN TORNADOES ACROSS
NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS FROM THE EVENING OF APRIL 9. NWS CHICAGO
WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS APPRECIATION TO NASA SPORT FOR THE SATELLITE
IMAGERY...NOAA REMOTE SENSING DIVISION FOR THE HIGH RESOLUTION
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY...THE CIVIL AIR PATROL FOR AREAL
PHOTOGRAPHY...AS WELL AS THE ILLINOIS STATE POLICE AND THE MCHENRY
COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY FOR THEIR AERIAL DAMAGE PHOTOS
AS WELL. ALL OF THIS REMOTE SENSING DATA ALONG WITH THE GROUND
SURVEYS WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN IDENTIFYING THE TORNADO PATHS LISTED
BELOW AS WELL AS THE DAMAGE INTENSITY.
THE FIRST TORNADO WAS SPAWNED OVER FAR SOUTHEAST WINNEBAGO COUNTY
INTO BOONE COUNTY BY THE FIRST SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORM...WHILE THE
NEXT SIX TORNADOES FORMED FROM ONE POWERFUL AND LONG DURATION
SUPERCELL STORM...INCLUDING THE VIOLENT LONG TRACK EF-4 FROM
NORTHERN LEE COUNTY...THROUGH OGLE AND DEKALB COUNTIES...AND
ENDING IN FAR SOUTHERN BOONE COUNTY.
THE TORNADO COUNT FROM THE APRIL 9TH EVENT FOR THE NWS CHICAGO
COUNTY WARNING AREA STANDS AS FOLLOWS...
EF-4: 1
EF-1: 3
EF-0: 3
TORNADOES WERE ON THE GROUND FOR A TOTAL OF 43.5 MILES ACROSS
NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS.
HERE IS A LISTING OF THE CONFIRMED TORNADOES...
.TORNADO 1...
RATING: EF-0
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 65 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 2.8 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 25 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: APRIL 09 2015
START TIME:6:37 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 2.9 MILES S CHERRY VALLEY
START LAT/LON: 42.1926/-88.9548
END DATE: APRIL 09 2015
END TIME:6:40 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 2.5 MILES SE CHERRY VALLEY
END_LAT/LON: 42.2174/-88.9106
AN EMERGENCY MANAGER AND TRAINED SPOTTERS PHOTOGRAPHED A
TORNADO THAT TOUCHED DOWN SOUTH OF CHERRY VALLEY. THE
TORNADO DID NOT PRODUCE ANY DAMAGE.
.TORNADO 2...
RATING: EF-4
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 200 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 30.2 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 700 YARDS
FATALITIES: 2
INJURIES: 22
START DATE:APRIL 09 2015
START TIME:6:39 PM CDT
START LOCATION:0.9 MILES NE FRANKLIN GROVE
START LAT/LON: 41.8530/-89.2896
END DATE:APRIL 09 2015
END TIME:7:20 PM CDT
END LOCATION:5 NNW KIRKLAND
END LAT/LON: 42.1623/-88.8792
THIS LONG TRACKED VIOLENT TORNADO DESTROYED NUMEROUS HOMES AND
FARMSTEADS...AS WELL AS TOSSED VEHICLES...ALONG ITS PATH FROM
NORTH CENTRAL LEE COUNTY ACROSS EASTERN OGLE...NORTHWEST
DEKALB...INTO EXTREME SOUTHERN BOONE COUNTY. THIS INCLUDED ACROSS
THE FAR NORTHWEST SIDE OF ROCHELLE...ACROSS INTERSTATE 39...AND
DIRECTLY THROUGH FAIRDALE.
Path Segments of the EF-4 Tornado
.TORNADO 3...
RATING: EF-0
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 65 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 1.9 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 100 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE:APRIL 09 2015
START TIME:7:05 PM CDT
START LOCATION:2.9 MILES E LINDENWOOD
START LAT/LON: 42.0583/-88.9752
END DATE:APRIL 09 2015
END TIME:7:08 PM CDT
END LOCATION:4.6 ENE LINDENWOOD
END LAT/LON: 42.0739/-88.9457
THIS BRIEF SATELLITE TORNADO OVER FAR EASTERN OGLE COUNTY WAS
CONFIRMED USING AERIAL SURVEY INFORMATION AND RADAR DATA.
.TORNADO 4...
RATING: EF-1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 110 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 4.0 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 100 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: APRIL 09 2015
START TIME: 7:15 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 3.1 MILES NW KIRKLAND
START LAT/LON: 42.1334/-88.8776
END DATE: APRIL 09 2015
END TIME: 7:21 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 6 MILES S BELVIDERE
END_LAT/LON: 42.1786/-88.8287
THIS TORNADO PATH WAS IDENTIFIED USING STORM CHASER VIDEO...GROUND
SURVEY AND AERIAL SURVEY INFORMATION. THE TORNADO FORMED IN FAR
NORTHWEST DEKALB COUNTY AND LIFTED IN FAR SOUTHERN BOONE COUNTY.
.TORNADO 5...
RATING: EF-0
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 85 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 0.4 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 30 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: APRIL 09 2015
START TIME:7:24 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 3.8 MILES S BELVIDERE
START LAT/LON: 42.2073/-88.8425
END DATE: APRIL 09 2015
END TIME: 7:25 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 3.9 MILES S BELVIDERE
END_LAT/LON: 42.2020/-88.8465
THIS TORNADO WAS SPAWNED BY THE SAME STORM THAT PRODUCED THE LONG
TRACK EF-4 SHORTLY AFTER THAT TORNADO LIFTED.
.TORNADO 6...
RATING: EF-1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 110 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 3.9 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 50 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: APRIL 09 2015
START TIME:7:25 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 6 MILES SE BELVIDERE
START LAT/LON: 42.2442/-88.7386
END DATE: APRIL 09 2015
END TIME:7:31 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 5.6 MILES ESE BELVIDERE
END_LAT/LON: 42.1942/-88.7748
THIS TORNADO WAS SPAWNED BY THE SAME STORM THAT PRODUCED THE LONG
TRACK EF-4 SHORTLY AFTER THAT TORNADO LIFTED.
.TORNADO 7...
RATING: EF-1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 90 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 0.3 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 30 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: APRIL 09 2015
START TIME: 7:50 PM CDT
START LOCATION: 4.4 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF HARVARD
START LAT/LON: 42.3982/-88.5309
END DATE: APRIL 09 2015
END TIME:7:51 PM CDT
END LOCATION: 4.6 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF HARVARD
END_LAT/LON: 42.4019/-88.5272
THIS BRIEF TORNADO SNAPPED AND UPROOTED 6 TO 7 TREES AT A
PROPERTY ON MCGUIRE ROAD SOUTHEAST OF HARVARD THEN CAUSED MINOR
TREE DAMAGE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE ROAD BEFORE ENDING.
EF SCALE: THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES
TORNADOES INTO THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES.
EF0...WEAK......65 TO 85 MPH
EF1...WEAK......86 TO 110 MPH
EF2...STRONG....111 TO 135 MPH
EF3...STRONG....136 TO 165 MPH
EF4...VIOLENT...166 TO 200 MPH
EF5...VIOLENT...>200 MPH
NOTE:
THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT AND PUBLICATION IN
NWS STORM DATA.
$$
NWS CHICAGO
Aerial Damage Photos
Landsat-8 Satellite image clearly showing the track of the tornado (Darkened line area northwest of Rochelle, IL)
Northwest Rochelle Tornado Damage (Courtesy Civil Air Patrol)
Northwest Rochelle Tornado Damage (Courtesy Civil Air Patrol)
Another view of damage to a neighborhood northwest of Rochelle showing high-end EF-4 impacts to homes.
(Courtesy Air-One and photographer Dave Youngblut)
Fairdale (Courtesy Civil Air Patrol)
Aerial of Fairdale looking Northeast. Courtesy of NGS/NOAA
East of Dixon. This is the base of the storm that would soon thereafter produce the long-lived tornado that would track into Ogle and DeKalb Counties. Courtesy of Lora Ludwig.
Near Ashton. Courtesy of PBrooks Photography.
Looking northwest of Rochelle. Courtesy of Dean Schultz.
Large hail at McHenry Country Club. Courtesy of Jeff Grubich.
Near I-39 Looking North of Rochelle. Courtesy of Jodi Mair.
Near I-39. Courtesy of Walker Ashley.
Near Hillcrest. Courtesy of Larissa Sebree.
Radar
Radar loop from 3:30 pm – 8:45 pm on April 9, 2015
The four panel radar images below display: radar reflectivity (top left), radar storm relative velocities from two different radars (top right and bottom right) and Correlation Coefficient (CC). Storm relative velocity tells us if a storm has rotation. The green colors in the imagery represent winds blowing towards the radar, while the red colors indicate winds blowing away from the radar. Therefore, strong rotation can be inferred in the storms showing bright red colors directly adjacent to bright green colors in the storm relative velocity images. This is also the area of the storm where the tornado is most likely to be occurring. Reflectivity and storm relative velocity used together with CC data can indicate the presence of debris resulting from a tornado. In basic terms CC is the correlation between the reflected horizontal and vertical power returns that the dual pol weather radar provides. CC data tends to be near one with most precipitation type echoes. Therefore, when the CC data is found to be very low (represented by the blue colors), it suggests that the radar is not sampling precipitation.
Notice that in the second radar four panel for the Franklin Grove to Margeno supercell time stamped 6:59 pm that a clear area of low CC data (Blue area) is identifiable within the radar reflective hook echo just north of Rochelle. This area also corresponds with the area of strong rotation as noticed in the storm relative velocity image in the top right. The Low CC in this area tells the radar operator that the strong reflectiveives within the hook echo in the top left panel is not precipitation, but is actually the radar seeing the debris being lofted from a tornado.
Near Rockford Airport to Cherry Valley to Harvard Supercell
6:37 pm
6:52 pm
Franklin Grove to Fairdale to Belvidere to Margeno Supercell
6:45 pm
6:59 pm
7:15 pm
7:29 pm
Meteorology
The atmosphere was ripe for severe weather due to highly anomalous moisture and instability for early April across the region. A strong low pressure system advanced into this favorable air mass. Combined with robust wind shear, this helped to trigger these potent storms.
Climatology
The peak tornado season in Illinois is April through June.
This was the first EF-4 tornado or stronger in Illinois since two EF-4 tornadoes occurred on November 17, 2013, including one that struck the community of Washington. This was the 33rd EF-4 or stronger tornado in Illinois on record (since 1950).
This was the first EF-4 or stronger tornado in the NWS Chicago County Warning Area in 25 years, since an F5 tornado struck Plainfield on August 28, 1990.
This was the strongest tornado on record (since 1950) for Ogle County, where EF-4 damage was observed. The previous strongest tornado on record in Ogle County since 1950 was an F-3 on August 5, 1979. The last tornado in Ogle County prior to April 9, 2015 was May 22, 2011, when three EF-1 tornadoes occurred.
This was the strongest tornado on record (since 1950) for DeKalb County, where EF-3 damage was observed. The previous strongest tornado on record in DeKalb County since 1950 was an F-2 on June 18, 1975. The last tornado in DeKalb County prior to April 9, 2015 was an EF-0 on May 13, 2011.
Sources:
Charles Russell
NWS https://www.weather.gov/lot/15apr09
SPC
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Rochelle%E2%80%93Fairdale,_Illinois_tornado
Hey everyone. I want to remind you all of the importance of dash cameras.
With all these unlicensed drivers, as well as all the hit and run accidents that have been happening lately. I cannot stress enough how important it is that you have a QUALITY dash camera recording at all times when you’re driving.
A dash camera turns a “He said she said” incident where who knows what comes out, to a no doubt about it, this is exactly what happened situation.
A dash camera records and tells only the truth. So if the other driver that caused the accident tries to lie and say things happened differently and it’s YOUR fault.
Your dash camera puts them in their place real fast, hopefully with an additional falsifying a police report charge tacked on.
What’s important to look for? Where should I get one? How much should I spend? I know…. There’s lot’s of questions. I’m going to cover these as best as I can.
What’s important to look for? Well, you want a good quality camera for starters. NO This does not include the cheap $10-$20 dash cameras at Walmart for example. If this is all you can afford, ANY camera is better than no camera, get that and save up for a better one.
Ideally though you’re looking for 1080P MINIMUM. A good quality 1080p dash camera will get a license plate readable to a decent distance, roughly 60-75 feet, I really think anything beyond 75 feet is pushing the limits of even a good 1080p camera.
Now if you get a good 4k camera, this distance increases a bit. Note I have not tested my gopro hero to an exact length but I believe you can extend that to 75-100 feet maybe more that you can read a license plate on video.
Another feature you’re really going to find useful is GPS, GPS records your coordinates, speed, and heading on the screen.
This can be useful to prove if you were, or were not speeding. This often times can be a factor in contributing accident fault, or innocence.
Wifi is a useful feature for using a larger cell phone or tablet screen to aim and adjust the camera, but I’ve found it to be really slow for file transfers. I ALWAYS suggest either plug the camera into your computer, or put the memory card into a memory card reader, this will be MANY times faster.
Where should I buy a dash camera? Well, any time we suggest a link, people whine and complain about it.
So you decide, Ebay, and Amazon, are good suggestions. When you get there search “Dash Camera” and when you find a model you think you like, don’t click buy just yet!!!
There’s still a little bit more homework to do still. But this is pretty easy. Take the company name and model of the camera over to YouTube.
You’re going to find examples of footage, and reviews on that specific camera. If it sucks, they’ll tell you it sucks.
YouTube is brutal in this aspect, but an extremely valuable tool for the same reason. If you’re still happy with what you see, click buy.
Get a good size memory card, I rarely suggest anyone use anything smaller than 16 gigs. 32 gigs is a good size for most peoples needs. Class 10 for 1080p. And Class U3 for 4k cameras.
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Yesterday we had a call of a package thief in the area of the 600 block of Park. Two very vigilant people noticed a young woman and a couple of guys taking a package off of a porch and run away with it. One of the vigilant neighbors got out her phone and shot multiple pictures of the subjects, while the other (who was in a car) followed the bandits. Later, the witness returned and told us that it seemed out of the ordinary that someone would be running with a package, because normally people wouldn’t run with them. Seemed super logical, and she was totally right.
This witness saw the subjects run into a house. She provided a perfect description and we were able to make contact with, and arrest 2 subjects from the house. The property was recovered, and returned to the rightful owner.
This case is a perfect example of how you all know what looks out of place in your own neighborhood. Good people did the right thing and called us, and we were able to go and catch the bad guys. That is perfect partnership, and we rely on you all for that.
With the holiday season upon us, lots of packages will be delivered. Please look out for one another. Most of the delivery services have alerts that you can get for when your package is delivered. That is a good idea. Certainly the camera systems work well, and good ol’ fashion looking out for each other works amazing.
Both of the suspects in this case were arrested for Theft and were released.
Neither had considered that they might have stolen someone’s Christmas gift, or even more importantly critical medicine that some folks have delivered.
We also informed them that they were clearly terrible criminals as they were not only followed by our awesome citizens, but we also had pictures of them being terrible criminals.
Be safe and be vigilant
BeloitProud
Sergeant Flanagan
