Tornadoes are fairly commonplace in Illinois, but most of the time you see a funnel cloud, you don’t think it will actually touch down or do much damage. Every once in a while, they do. That was the case in 1967. A funnel cloud was spotted, and someone did try to report it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get a dial tone and it ended up wreaking havoc during a time when children were playing outside and adults were on their way home from work. The Oak Lawn tornado is the most famous of these particular tornadoes, but it actually was a series of tornadoes that killed 58 people. It was a muggy April day that soon turned deadly.

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It was the third (and last) F4 tornado that created the most damage, and it unfortunately struck Oak Lawn. It ended up throwing 25-40 vehicles at the intersection of 95th and Southwest Highway. It was rush hour, so many more people were on the street. 16 people in cars died. But the damage didn’t stop there. It ended up killing 33 people. Unfortunately, it killed numerous children who were at a roller rink. It injured a startling 1,000 people in the town. 152 homes were destroyed, as well as numerous businesses. The damage ended up costing around $50 million. It also caused numerous fires around town. Here is an aerial shot of the damage.

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Here is an awesome video that gives you a sense of what this tornado looked like.

Do you remember this tornado? Are there any other details you can provide? Share your stories in the comments.

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