Supercell thunderstorms produced a large tornado that touched down in northern Illinois last night, killing one person and injuring eight others in the tiny community of Fairdale as severe weather pummeled the Midwest. Authorities are still working to account for every resident in Fairdale, DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said in a statement. Out of the approximately 75 homes in the village of about 150 residents, 15 to 20 were destroyed, Scott said. The fire department says 50 buildings in the small farming community have been heavily damaged, ABC7 reports.
The severe weather, the region's first widespread bout, forced the cancellation of more than 850 flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and dozens of others at the city's Midway International Airport. The National Weather Service's "enhanced risk" area stretched from northeast Texas to Michigan, Wisconsin, and across the upper Midwest. Forecasters say Philadelphia, Washington, and other parts of the Atlantic coast could see the same weather patterns today, including Augusta, Ga., where the Masters golf tournament is taking place through the weekend. (More Illinois stories.)