Severe thunderstorms that moved through McHenry County on Thursday night left behind downed power lines, damaged trees, flooding, and at least one home with a collapsed rear foundation. Officials said the storm also triggered road closures, a tornado warning for the county’s northeastern section, and scattered power outages that affected about 1,200 ComEd customers.
The most serious damage was reported in McHenry, where the McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded around 9 p.m. to West South Street for a residential structural collapse. Fire crews arrived within minutes and found “a collapsed foundation in the rear” of a single-family home, according to a district news release.
Home declared unsafe after structural collapse
All five people inside the home, including two young children, got out safely before crews arrived. Responders searched the house to make sure no other people or pets remained inside, then determined that the structure was unstable and uninhabitable.
The area around the home was secured to keep people away from the damaged section. The American Red Cross is helping the family with temporary shelter, while Nicor, ComEd and the McHenry Building Department were called to the scene to isolate utilities and assess the damage.
Officials said the storm appears to have played a role in the failure of the home. The building department was continuing its investigation, and the fire protection district said the severe weather was among the contributing factors.
Strong winds topple trees and lines
The National Weather Service reported wind gusts in the 50- to 60-mph range near Marengo. Those winds brought down trees and electrical wires near Route 120 by Wonder Lake, prompting road closures, Wonder Lake Fire Chief Matt Yegge said.
Portions of Bull Valley Road were also shut down because of roadway obstructions. In Marengo, police posted that a funnel cloud had been reported heading toward town, though it moved north and east toward Union and Woodstock.
The storm system also left pockets of flooding in the county. McHenry County Emergency Management Agency Executive Director David Christensen said streets in the southeast corner of the county were flooded after the area received about 1.5 to 3 inches of rain, according to NWS meteorologist Lee Carlaw.
Key impacts reported across the county
- A home in McHenry suffered a rear foundation collapse and was ruled unsafe.
- Trees and downed lines blocked roads near Wonder Lake and Bull Valley.
- Flooding affected streets in the southeast part of the county.
- ComEd reported about 1,200 customers without power at the peak of the outage.
- Fewer than 20 customers remained without power by Friday afternoon.
Other flooding was reported in the Woodstock area, where strong winds uprooted a large tree that fell against a home. Comcast? No, officials identified ComEd as handling the wider outage response, and crews worked through the night to restore service and clear hazards.
More storms expected to follow
The weather threat did not end with Thursday night’s round of storms. The National Weather Service said more thunderstorms could move through the Northern Illinois region from Friday afternoon into Saturday morning, with lightning, damaging winds, hail risk, and heavy downpours possible.
Carlaw said the expected storm severity was low, and while localized heavy rain remained possible, there was no broad risk of flash flooding. Farther west in Illinois, crews were also checking Lee and Ogle counties to determine whether storm damage there was caused by tornadoes, although no touchdowns had been confirmed in northern Illinois at the time.
Weather disruptions also affected community events in McHenry County. Egg hunts planned for Woodstock Square and the Dole in Crystal Lake were moved indoors because of the forecast, as officials continued to monitor the unsettled spring weather across the region.
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