A Friday night storm strong enough to rip the roof off of First United Methodist Church in downtown Elgin will be evaluated by the National Weather Service to determine if a tornado came through the area, officials said.
Meteorologist Todd Kluber said NWS investigators started their damage assessment Saturday in DeKalb County and unincorporated Kane County and would eventually get to the Elgin area to put together a picture of what happened overnight.
“We are working our way toward the Elgin area to see if the damage reports of those areas are associated with straight winds or if there is any evidence of a brief tornado in the Elgin area,” Kluber said.
Scott Buziecki, director of the Kane County Office of Emergency Management, said the 216 E. Highland Ave. church was one of several isolated places where heavy damage was reported. A barn was destroyed in a rural part of the county, he said, and there were downed trees and electrical wires in several locations, including areas north of Maple Park and area near Pingree Grove and Hampshire.
Based on the damage staff and volunteers are seeing, Buziecki said, “it’s probably not a monster tornado but one on the small scale like we’ve seen in the last couple of years.”
“It looks like something went through Elgin but we are waiting for the National Weather Service to do a damage survey,” he said.
Wind speeds of up to 50 mph were reported in the Elgin area, and the likely source of the roof damage done at First United Methodist Church, which is where Elgin’s homeless shelter is located.
Church officials are “incredibly thankful that, despite the severity of the storm, no one was injured,” according to a Facebook post. “A significant portion of the roof over the sanctuary is missing, resulting in water damage. We are currently assessing the full extent of the damage and will continue to provide updates as we learn more.”
Crews were brought in Saturday to cover the roof with tarp and prevent more damage from occurring with the possibility of rain and snow moving into the area Sunday, the post said.
Robert Waldsmith, who had been at a nearby fast-food restaurant Friday night and was planning to go to the shelter for the night, said the storm was so violent that he had to duck for cover.
“I saw a whole lot of wind and debris,” Waldsmith said, speaking outside the church Saturday. “It was coming from all sides at one time.”
What he saw of the aftermath Saturday, he said, was “bad. It’s leaking inside the church.”
He said he was told the shelter would not open on Saturday, which was the last day it was to be available for the winter season.
Church officials canceled the in-person 10 a.m. Sunday service but planned to hold one remotely via Zoom, using the passcode FUMCE. At noon, there will be a prayer vigil on the church’s front steps, the Facebook post said.
“We welcome you to join us as we lift our voices in prayer and seek strength and comfort together,” the Facebook post said.
Buziecki said the Office of Emergency Management is asking people to submit reports and photos of damage via their website, www.kcoem.org.
Kane County has had 13 reported tornadoes in the last year and a half, he said.
The most recent were EF1 tornados that came through Maple Park/Campton Hills and Sugar Grove. EF1 is the second lowest on a scale that starts at EF0 and tops out at EF5.
“We have seen events like this (Friday’s storm) happen this time of year,” Kluber said. Big storms early in the season originating in the central part of the country tend to have a lot of energy, he said, meaning “they can be pretty dynamic in producing strong winds or have embedded tornadoes.”
The worst to hit Elgin was on March, 28, 1920. Known as the Palm Sunday tornado, it was classified an EF3 and damaged downtown churches and killed seven people, according to a Courier-News article.
It first appeared on the city’s west side and then traveled across the Fox River, where it hit multiple spots in the downtown, according to historian Jerry Turnquist. First Congregational Church of Elgin, located near First UMC, was severely damaged, he said in a YouTube video about the event.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
