Dear Tom,
In the mid 1970s when I was 7, I remember a violent tornadic storm while visiting my uncle in Oak Lawn. My family was stranded there because of major flooding. When did this storm occur?
Renee Lee Greco, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Dear Renee,
That storm was the F4 Lemont tornado that struck Chicago’s southwest suburbs late on the hot humid Sunday afternoon of June 13, 1976. Around 5 p.m. skies turned black as the storm cut an 8 mile long path of destruction along a path from Lemont to south Downers Grove, killing two and injuring 23. While most of the major tornado damage occurred just west of Oak Lawn, the area you where you were was bombarded by hail up to 2″ in diameter for nearly an hour and inundated with torrential rainfall. Nearly 7.5″ of rain fell in the Oak Lawn area that evening, flooding roads and expressways and stranding thousands of motorists.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
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