1967 Oak Lawn tornado

In the evening hours of April 21, 1967, a destructive tornado moved through several suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, killing 33 and injuring over 500 more. The tornado was commonly known as the Oak Lawn Tornado of 1967.

Meteorological synopsis Prior to the event, the U.S. Weather Bureau issued a tornado watch, warning that many tornadoes could possibly hit Northern Illinois.

Tornado summary The tornado first produced damage to a restaurant located on McCarthy Road in the Lemont area, where the building's windows were blown out. Shortly after, a witness to the tornado on Willow Springs Road noted a funnel to the National Weather Service in Chicago, Illinois, marking the first time the tornado was reported on the ground by a member of the public. The funnel visibly condensed along 88th Avenue at 5:24 p.m., destroying trees and dislodging chunks of mud from the ground. Homes were first damaged on 83rd Avenue and the tornado impacted more residential areas in the Harlem Avenue area. In this area, the tornado lofted a well-built home in the air and destroyed two other homes on Sayre Avenue. In Chicago Ridge, the tornado inflicted severe damage to structures and impacted a Starlite Drive-In Theatre, blowing down the screen and bending the steel supports used to hold the screen up.

Track through Oak Lawn area

The tornado continued to move to the northeast as it entered into central portions of Oak Lawn, growing to one city block in width. In a damage analysis produced following the event, the National Weather Service called the damage in this area "terrific". Brick homes were destroyed in the tornadic winds and 40 vehicles sitting at an intersection were set aloft by the tornado, several being dropped on the Oak Lawn athletic field. At 5:28 p.m. the tornado impacted the southern portions of the Oak Lawn Community High School and picked up school buses, one landing on a home. The tornado narrowed as it continued along its path, thinning to less than one city block wide before rapidly widening and intensifying as it struck Cicero Avenue. The tornado caused fatalities at a roller rink on 92nd Street adjacent to Cicero Avenue; the rink was destroyed.

Hometown and Evergreen Park In Hometown, the tornado destroyed several homes and damaged the city hall, stopping a clock in the building that displayed as “5:29 p.m.”, the time of impact. A multi-story building located at 8900 Crawford Avenue was obliterated and a steel fence located on the same street was destroyed. The tornado destroyed over 200 headstones and other statues as it moved over the St. Mary’s Cemetery; a two-story brick building on the opposite side of the cemetery was destroyed. The tornado briefly paralleled the Great Western Railroad as it continued to track in a northeastward motion before striking another cemetery. At this point along its track, the tornado was moving to the east at forward speeds of over .

On Kedzie Avenue, the tornado produced heavy damage to buildings, before continuing into Evergreen Park. The tornado deroofed buildings and collapsed the walls of homes as it moved over the intersection of 88th Street and Francisco Avenue before widening, reaching almost one block in width while inflicting heavy structural damage to stores on Washtenan Avenue through the Ohio Railroad tracks. Several people along this portion of the tornado’s track took heed of the warning and moved to shelter before the tornado hit. At the intersection of Ciero Avenue and 87th Street, a photograph of the large tornado was taken.

The tornado downed trees in the Dan Ryan Woods neighborhood, hitting homes on Damen Avenue and shattering windows. The condensation funnel lifted around the 86th Street area, narrowing to one-half of a city block in width, damaging garages and deroofing structures. Signs along Ashland Avenue were blown off their posts by the tornado; at this point it had begun to move in an eastward direction. Two exterior walls of a brick factory on 84th Street were blown out by the tornadic winds and several other structures sustained wall damage on Vincennes and Wentworth Avenues. To the east, newer homes were destroyed and large amounts of debris were picked up and fell onto the Dan Ryan Expressway, closing the highway for several hours.

At around this time, the tornado moved parallel to the Illinois Central railroad, visible to witnesses at treetop level. The tornado damaged brick buildings and chimneys as it tracked through a residential area at relatively weak intensity. The tornado then passed over a filtration plant on 78th Street near Lake Michigan, where an anemometer measured a wind gust that exceeded . In the parking lot of the plant, the tornado broke vehicle windshields. Shortly after, the tornado lifted. It was on the ground for , killing 33 people and injuring at least 500 others.

Aftermath

Casualties The tornado was the deadliest in the history of greater Chicago, and one of the worst to ever strike the region. +NameAgeLocationRef.Albert Semaitis42Evergreen ParkCharlotte Hanley50La GrangePatrick Golden39Oak LawnJohn Mobley46Edward Griffith45Edward Lipski51Patrick Calascibetta46William Hunoway47Edward Burmon65William Welser35Bernard Brady43Bernadette Brady8Bernice Andrews25William Jackson51Catherine Zenner15John Haggan51David Nork14Helen Atchley81Carole Jucius22Joan Casey30Christine Casey1Charles McNeill65Ernie Gunnarson59Karleen Gunnarson53Harold Cody70Marjorie Swanson40Walter John60John Martin23Grant Miller32Albert Kriscunas42Palos HeightsEdward Nykeil54SummitChristine Hinds13WorthAnnette Clark21

Damage The tornado damaged over 100 homes in the Oak Lawn area,

Legacy 40 years after the event, students at the Oak Lawn Community High School designed a sculpture to commemorate the tornado.

1967 Oak Lawn tornado

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