Hickory Hills and Bridgeview area residents stood outside their apartment building Friday looking at the roof blown off and a piece of wood impaling a garage. Down the street, a highway sign stood split in half.
“Everyone was concurring, like, this looks like a tornado,” said Melissa Alvarez, an apartment resident.
The National Weather Service confirmed Monday it was a tornado that touched down that evening, with wind speeds between 111 and 135 mph.
The tornado plowed from Hickory Hills to the Midway Airport area and was one of 17 that tore through the region Thursday night, according to the National Weather Service.
Alvarez said power returned to her building Sunday night, and she was able to return.
The roof of that apartment building, near Hickory Hills, Justice and Bridgeview, was blown off in the Thursday tornado, and Alvarez said she was unsure if a safety inspection had been conducted since.
Hickory Hills Mayor Mike Howley said he was in a City Council meeting Thursday night when the storm hit, and he did not realize the significant structural damage until the next day, when people sent photos of downed poles and live wires.
“You could actually feel like the windows being sucked in,” Howley said.
He said the storm knocked out power for most of the town and led to a water main break. The storm also knocked down around four wooden utility poles near 88th and 89th streets. Howley said that to his knowledge, the storm did not cause any deaths or injuries in the town.
“I’ve been in town for over 50 years, and I’ve never seen, and I’ve talked with people at public works, folks who have been here for a long time too, and they’ve never seen devastation like this,” he said.
About 12% of the town was still without power Monday afternoon, he said.
Howley said the Police and Public Works departments were working around the clock to clean up the debris, and he continues sending emails to residents with updates about the storm damage. He said all of the people working extra hours will be a significant cost.
He also warned residents against scammers, who he said sometimes try to charge residents for tree services following storms.
The National Weather Service stated on its website the June 11 tornado ratings and assessments were preliminary and additional analysis would be conducted. A spokesperson for NWS said Monday the Hickory Hills tornado was confirmed, but staff were still working to provide details on its path.
Heavy storms also hit Calumet City Sunday morning, resulting in downed trees, power lines and property damage, according to the Calumet City Emergency Services and Disaster Agency.
Mayor Thaddeus Jones said he had not seen a storm hit residential areas this hard before. He said the storm knocked down more than 100-year-old trees that fell on resident houses and vehicles. The storm also knocked out power for most of the city.
“It wasn’t a regular storm that did this much damage,” said Jones. “It had to be something more powerful.”
One tree, he said, fell on a woman’s house during the storm, knocking out the gas and power lines. He said the women was taken to the hospital and released Tuesday, and the city is set to demolish the house.
He said the city is finding housing support for residents’ whose houses were damaged, and who would most likely rely on Red Cross or donations. The city also organized a crew of 56 people from the Police and Fire departments and tree service to respond to the storm damage.
Jones said that crew worked nonstop in shifts since the storm and that some police officers conducted wellness checks on residents. He said hundreds of residents have called or sent emails requesting assistance or thanking the city.
The Emergency Services Department also advised residents to use caution around downed trees, utility lines and work zones.
awright@chicagotribune.com
