Meteorologist Says Storms Could Have Been Much Worse

The National Weather Service says Illinois has never seen anything quite like Sunday’s powerful storms.

Meteorologist Chris Miller with the National Weather Service in Lincoln, Ill. said five tornadoes tore through central Illinois, but the number state-wide is much higher.  

"Somewhere between 12 and 18 tornadoes is where we’re going to end up with," Miller said. "That’s going to be the biggest tornado outbreak in Illinois in the month of November.”

Miller said the massive storm system stretched from Wisconsin to Kentucky, killing six people in Illinois.

“Some of the tornadoes were on the ground for quite a long period of time," he said. "The Gifford tornado was on the ground for just under a half an hour. The tornado that affected Washington was on the ground for 46 miles and it was moving at 60 miles an hour. So, it was on the ground for just under an hour.”

Miller said storms in Washington and New Minden where there were causalities were listed as EF4’s, the second highest tornado rating. The tornado in Gifford was listed as an EF3.

Gov. Pat Quinn has declared 13 counties state disaster areas.