Pontiac, Illinois tornado damage

I called Pontiac, Illinois home for almost 6 years. I never experienced what I heard about yesterday. The National Weather Service had predicted that we would be in the moderate range for severe weather. That included Pontiac, Illinois, where I was living before. As I told my wife good night, little did I know that the town would take a direct hit from a tornado.

According to the Bloomington/Normal based newspaper the Pantagraph, the storm hit Pontiac around 10:15. It damaged multiple business next to Interstate 55 and Route 116. Also, a mobile home was taken off its foundation.

There were 7 people injured, but in Pontiac they have installed an updated warning system that kept people safe. The National Weather Service is giving that tornado an EF2 rating, meaning sustained winds were at 125 MPH.

When I woke up this morning and saw that a tornado hit the town, my first thought was my family OK? They were fine, as the tornado was well south of them. I know people very well who are employed at the car dealership that took a direct hit. Businesses can rebuild, but people can not. That is a very fortunate thing that no one lost their life last night.

Here is some video of the damage and comments from the Livingston County sheriff, courtesy of the Associated Press via You Tube.