August 28, 1990. I remember it very well–this strongest Illinois August tornado happened behind such a wall of rain, it could not and was never able to be photographed directly by any of the survivors. Today is the reminder that tornadoes happen any day, any time. . .Take this 34th year to remember those who were affected. My prayers are for the families and friends who were lost or injured in the major then F5 Plainfield, Illinois tornado.
A moment of silence for the remembrance of everyone who remembered that terrible tragedy…
On the day this happened, I was due to go to work doing a tile installation for a client who worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation. He went out on that emergency. I knew it was a real bad storm because even though I was over 25 miles from the touchdown, all the emergency sirens sounded and I heard from my client and he called when he was on the way there, and told me he was going to trust my company and left a key to get in. My company finished the job, because he was gone for almost a whole week assisting FEMA with operations and life sustaining operations. Bless that man, and all the volunteers, workers, emergency personnel that assisted in making sure as many injured persons were getting the care to help them live again. Thank God we made it through that horrible day! The unfortunate tally of this violent tornado is 29 deaths and 353 injuries. Never forget!!!
| Plainfield, Illinois 1990 Tornado | |
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August 29, 1990 |
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Aerial Damage Images, Courtesy of weather.gov |
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Maps and photos assembled by numerous NWS Chicago staff including past work by Jim Allsopp (retired NWS), and former students Nicole Batzek and Cameron Nixon. It has been noted that there are no photos of this very devastating tornado, because the whole tornado was hidden behind a wall cloud of both rain and then debris. So warning on this tornado was a few years before Doppler radar improvements would be able to be made in order to be able to make a judgement call and activate the Emergency Alert System. earlier than it was done on that day. |
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Maps: Plainfield tornado’s track: damage survey by Dr. Ted Fujita |
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 Map of the Plainfield tornado’s track. |
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 Close-up of track over the Wheatland Plains subdivision. |
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 Close-up of track over Plainfield. |
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 Close-up of track over the Joliet/Crest Hill area. |
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 Map showing parts of present-day Wheatland with roads impacted by the tornado that were present in 1990 (red) and newer roads that were built afterwards (green), showing just how much more of an impact this tornado would have had if it occurred today. |
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 Maps showing parts of present-day Plainfield with roads impacted by the tornado that were present in 1990 (red) and newer roads that were built afterwards (green), showing just how much more of an impact this tornado would have had if it occurred today. |
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 The original storm survey work by the late Dr. Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago. (Frame #1) |
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 The original storm survey work by the late Dr. Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago. (Frame #2) |
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 The original storm survey work by the late Dr. Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago. (Frame #3) |
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Images courtesy of weather.gov
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Tornado Alley courtesy of Openverse
Tom Skilling Courtesy of YouTube:
We all miss Tom Skilling for his years of dedication after retiring earlier this year. I had the opportunity to meet Tom Skilling personally in 2007 while attending the annual WGN/Fermilab Storm and Severe Weather Seminar. The seminar is a must attend for anyone into weather. Just attending it one time could be the difference between life and death in a storm situation. Thank you Tom, your expertise is always gladly needed, because you are so careful when you put together your daily forecasts.
Tom Skilling Retires on Wednesday After Almost 46 Years of Weather Forecasting
Photo by 51581 courtesy of Pixabay
THE 1990 PLAINFIELD TORNADO
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What is the difference between an EF5 and an EF1 Tornado?
Here is an example of the difference between the Tornado that hit Versatileer‘s city of Oak Forest (EF1) and the Great Plainfield tornado (then F5/Now EF5). Our power was out for days, and took over a year for recovery. As I just heard Plainfield never completely recovered, some major operations and damages took over a decade to finish, and we never recover from even one death, and we experienced 29 deaths. You can see that the damage between the above photos whereby you are able to see the specific path carved onto the ground from an aerial shot of the Plainfield tornado (very wide).
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See Tips: Preparedness Before, During & After a Tornado:
The Danger of Tornadoes ’24 – Spring & Summer Weather Series + Resources
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Be prepared, and be safe.
🌪️ MORE RESOURCES:
Versatileer WEATHER PAGE:
Tropical Activity & Wildfires Report, Tropical Systems-Atlantic & Pacific + wildfire forecasts:
Hurricane Preparedness Kit, courtesy of the Ward Law Group:
FIND YOUR LOCAL NOAA.com WEATHER RADIO STATION:
FIND YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST:
ENERGY USAGE CALCULATOR: Interactive comparison tool courtesy of Energy Use Calculator: energyusecalculator.com
GUIDE TO ASBESTOS & DISASTER: What to know during natural disasters
STAY SAFE!!!
Massive Tornado Touchdown in Rolling Fork, Mississippi on Friday Night
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