GIFFORD, Ill. (WAND) — Eleven years ago Sunday, an EF 3 tornado tore through Gifford, damaging hundreds of homes. According to the National Weather Service, the day is marked as a historic outbreak, with 75 twisters touching down across seven states, with 25 touching down in Illinois.
The tornado in Gifford leveled twenty homes.
Over 200 were damaged.
Thankfully, no one died in Gifford. Six people did go to the hospital following the massive storm.
"It's amazing," said Champaign County Sheriff Dan Walsh had told WAND News on November 17, 2013. "When you look and see these houses it's incredible. They've just literally caved or blown over and it's just amazing that nobody was seriously hurt or killed."
A look back at WAND News I-Team coverage of rebuilding Gifford:
The National Weather service gives a few "fast facts" about this day on their site. They said, on that day 75 tornadoes touched down across seven states, with 25 touching down in Illinois. Eight people died in Illinois, marking it the deadliest tornado outbreak in the state since Februrary 29, 2012. 14 of the tornadoes that touched down in the state were at least EF 2 in strength. The twister that touched down in Washington was an EF 4 with maximum winds reaching 190 mph, with debris reaching as far as Chicago.
Copyright 2024. WAND TV. All rights reserved.
