Manhattan Tornado: Buildings Damaged, Trees Knocked Down

MANHATTAN, IL — Several buildings were damaged and a number of trees and power lines were down Tuesday night after a tornado flew through the Manhattan-area. Those in the area described the "silent chaos" that was the tornado making a brief touchdown near Wilton Center just before 7 p.m. Despite touching down for nearly a minute, no injuries were reported by Manhattan officials as of late Tuesday night.

The tornado, one of two funnel clouds reported in the area, was headed in a northeast direction toward the Frankfort-Mokena area around 7:15 p.m. but damage in that area was not nearly as severe as in Manhattan, where Mayor James Doyle estimated that dozens of buildings had sustained some damage and the town's post office saw its roof collapsed.

Christopher Issa was working at Zenith Terminals at 1035 Laraway Road around 6:45 p.m., when he said he heard three tornado sirens sound at the same time. When he looked outside, there it was. A funnel cloud.

"The clouds were moving quickly, maybe 60 miles an hour," said Issa, who estimates his location was anywhere from 3-5 miles away from where the tornado touched down.

"It was like silent chaos," he said. "Like witnessing something through a window but hearing nothing."

Here's a view from Danny Neal, who shared this angle on Facebook Live.

Issa said the entire storm rolled through the area quickly, with clouds completely clearing less than a half-hour after the funnel cloud was spotted.

Patch Editor Joe Vince made it to Manhattan just before 8:30 p.m., after the storms rolled out of the area. Power was still out for several residents who live along Cedar Road. ComEd reported at the time that about 1,300 were out of power in the area.

Some in Manhattan have reported on social media significant damage caused by the storm, including one case of windows shattering and at least one roof blowing off a home. Several trees were knocked down as well.

Dr. Laura Aversano of Manhattan Dental Care was seeing patients at the time the tornado hit. She says it was only about a minute before it left the area.

“It was so fast I don’t think anyone had time to get nervous,” she said.

Aversano, and several others, reported hearing the tornado sirens after the twister hit the ground.

Issa said a friend of his who lives in Manhattan described little activity at the time the tornado rolled through. Many of the streets were empty as most residents remained inside.

Manhattan village, police and fire officials issued an update near the village's downtown around 9 p.m.

"Trees were down, wires were down," said Doyle, who estimated that "maybe a dozen" buildings were damaged.

Weather gurus have guessed that there were two funnel clouds in the area, with the one that touched down not hitting Manhattan. The one that did damage did not appear to touch the ground, according to this report.

A survey of damage in the immediate area near U.S. 52 and Wabash Street in Manhattan shows that the roof of the post office collapsed as a result of the storm. Aversano's office, which is next to the post office, had about two inches of water inside as a result.

Take a look at other eyewitnesses who shared their images of the tornado on Twitter.

Multiple tornado touchdowns, Wilton Center IL 655 pm @NWSChicago pic.twitter.com/YkM7EUKaHM
— Andrew Pritchard (@skydrama) June 26, 2018

Had a brief tornado out of this a few minutes ago east of Manhattan IL. Rapid rotation continues. pic.twitter.com/jdjoghHHRw
— Matt Magiera (@mattmwx) June 27, 2018

Tornado trying to form over yonder.

Stay safe, everyone! pic.twitter.com/RhG7CVm5zG
— Chicagoland Speedway (@ChicagolndSpdwy) June 27, 2018

Earlier in the evening, Patch was in the Frankfort-Mokena area shortly after the storms left that area. Here's what the scene looked like from just outside Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox.

Patch Editors Joe Vince and Andrea Earnest contributed to this report.

Top photo by Christopher Issa