Tornado Funnel Cloud over Bridgeview & Burbank, IL 03/27/91

[@ILoveOldTWC]

Winds gusted to 80 mph at O'Hare Airport that day. Those sirens sound scary!

[@rockerjock79]

I remember that day, I was 12. I lived in Bridgeview off of 74th and Roberts Rd. Another funnel cloud went right over the Bridgeview Library that day. Cool to see video from 1991!!! Can tell you're right off of Harlem Ave.

[@ILoveOldTWC]

In Plainfield, and 7 months almost to the day of the F5 tornado that struck without warning and killed 29 people.

[@giantleprechaun2350]

Imagine the scare Plainfield must have had on this day.

[@TransitWeather]

I remember Mar 27,'91... that was quite an active day. We even had a funnel here at Marengo in McHenry Co, but I dont believe anything touched down around us.

[@ryandonato6194]

After some hard work in Lemont, it worked up quite an appetite and wanted an Italian beef sandwich from Duke's.

[@hotwheel6663]

Ryan Donato Or a Chili Mac.

[@papayapuppy999]

There Close And Now A Panera And I Live In Burbank And You Sus

[@annajones9586]

No more Duke's

[@williamfstackjr]

The tornado moved Duke's from Bridgeview to Mokena

[@ryandonato550]

@@williamfstackjr It took it many years to move it.

[@theelrussiano2584]

Seeing this 30 years later on this day 3-27-21 is just crazy because I work in Bridgeview

[@RailsChicago]

Wow, thanks for reminding me!

[@Spritz86]

It's funny how destiny makes you find certain people back! I'm not at all from your area, not even American, but I had the huge joy to watch your refindings! watched a waterspout when I was a 3 year old in France..

[@jeffer0326]

I saw it too, I was standing on the corner of 95th and Ridgeland and it was southwest of me. It looked like it was over the expressway. It broke up in 3 minutes.

[@SzworldNet]

Amazing that so many people remember this. I too remember. Coincidentally I purchased video camera that very same day. I used to work in Bridgeview at Carry Transit. I was on my way to work and listening to the news reports on the radio of a tornado in Lemont. I was on 294 looking west so I had pretty good view of the storms. I recorded some of the storms as I was driving but didn't see any funnel clouds.

[@tornadonow]

I remember this day too. I live in what is now Homer Glen, 4 miles soith of Lemont, and saw probably this funnel cloud to the northeast, and probably about the same time this was filmed (4:00ish). That was one hell of a day!

[@ChicagoSirens]

The siren that was the first one sounding is an STH-10 and is still there. However, the loudest ones in this video are Thunderbolt sirens and all are gone except Stickney which might be heard in this video.

[@TrainsofChicagoland]

I know this comments old, but are the locations of the Thunderbolts known? I want to say that level 5 Thunderbolt heard is Summit, but it sounds too close to be Summit. There’s also another bolt on level 3. Could that be Central Stickney?

[@LePengyTwice]

I live near Bridgeview and Burbank idk if i remember this this is probably not it but is that sign on the very right the Duke Drive in sign?

[@uwtitanfan]

I remember this day! I was in fifth grade and my entire school was outside for lunch break. The sky got really dark around 12:45pm and we could all see lightning off to the west. It was one heck of a storm we got that afternoon. They sighted funnel clouds to west in the oshkosh area and a tornado near madison killed a person when a tree blew over on him as he was running for shelter

[@superzig311]

I was in 7th grade when this happened. I lived 2 blocks away from the filmer, at 79th and New Land. My great-grandparents lived in Lemont. The tornado touched down initially 3 blocks from their house. The only damage done to their house was a broken TV antenna. Funny thing is we bought their house 3 months later. All the wreckage from the McCarthy Point subdivision was kept for months by the train tracks off Main Street in Lemont. That was some crazy shit back then!

[@Hiei2k7]

Somehow, I remember this storm. I would have been 3 Years old in 1991. I lived 130 Miles West of Chicago in the town of Mount Carroll, Illinois. This storm directly hit my home, and all it caused was 1 loose piece of siding on the side of the house to fall off, which we promptly snapped back on.

[@WINSOXWIN]

I just posted a video I recorded today, similar sirens in the background. I have viewed your video long before I posted this, but it reminded me of yours. I grew up in Burbank too, I remember that Wendy's there (now something else)and of course good old Duke's!

[@KermitTheGamer21]

My mom lived in Lemont. My grandfather actually has footage of a funnel cloud passing over his house, and I believe it is the beginnings of the F3 on that day. One day I'll have to hope and pray the VHS tape still works and find a way to upload it to KZbin. One of my mom's favorite stories to tell is how my uncle pranked her a few months after the Lemont tornado. My mom was in the bathroom, and my uncle screamed "TORNADO!" and my mom came running out of the bathroom for the basement with her pants still around her ankles!!

[@giantleprechaun2350]

Did you upload the footage yet?

[@KermitTheGamer21]

@@giantleprechaun2350 I haven't seen my grandfather since before the pandemic started, unfortunately

[@ZubairKhan-ls8du]

@@KermitTheGamer21 What about now?

[@giantleprechaun2350]

Any luck yet?

[@michaelaccardofrontczak]

That looks like its over by Haunted Trails?

[@royalewithcheese12]

I remember this day. I was working in Woodridge at the time. I rode my bike to work that day. I was on the way home about this time when I started getting pelted by hail. It got so bad I stopped at a Dunkin Donuts to wait out the storm. All of a sudden a lady comes flying into the parking lot with her car. She jams on the breaks, gets out and starts babbling about a tornado. All of us in the store looked out and saw this tornado. Awesome film.

[@RailsChicago]

No, the Plainfield tornado was 7 months before this (8/28/90). If you read the description, this video was taken the day Lemont got hit by an F3. Lemont is not far from Plainfield. My reference to Plainfield in the video was because a warning was issued for them and I did say "again" as a reference to the prior disaster.

[@RailsChicago]

That would be PJ's card shop..:) I wasn't even a glimmer in my mother's eyes when the OL tornado hit but I know all about it. Narragansett is known as Ridgeland Ave south of 87th Street, even back in 1967 I believe. The Drive-In Theatre is now Westfield Chicago Ridge Mall.

[@kleo8577]

OMG - This is scary. I never saw anything like that before.

[@greencanarymfp8771]

Its been years

[@RailsChicago]

I am standing on 81st Street looking due west. Harlem Ave is the busy street in the background. The funnel was probably no more than two block west of Harlem and the entire storm was moving NE towards Midway Airport. The funnel itself didn't move much.

[@parkman35]

I was on the far west side of Joliet that very day and all hell brooke loose around 2:30 PM. It was like midnight outside. My location was about 1 1/2 east of Plainfield. Yes, Lemont got hit that day as well. All of 127th was hit in Lemont 127th all the way up to Timberline. Lemont was hit big time in 1976 by an F4.

[@SzworldNet]

I believe footage from the Lemont tornado was shown during WGN's "It Sounded Like A Freight Train" special. I think a cop was filming it and said it was moving along Timberline Ave or something like that.

[@SzworldNet]

I think I would have driven directly under the funnel you filmed as I would have drove up Roberts Road to get to work but I was about 20 minutes too late according to the time on your video. I do remember a co-worker saying he seen the funnel and me being mad I had missed it. The first day I had my camera and I missed a tornado by 20 minutes. Funny after 17 years I finally seen it.

[@RailsChicago]

Read the full video description. Lemont was hit by an F-3 the same day and this is the same supercell as it moved towards Chicago.

[@RailsChicago]

Yep I actually saw it yesterday. It was hanging over I-294 vertically instead of coming down towards the ground. It was really weird looking. I was on my way to my girlfriend's but I turned around and went back to my house to get my camera. The pics didn't turn out the great and the funnel had already dissipated by the time I came back outside. Oh well. Pretty exciting though!

[@Tone034]

just think that if the storm had retained it's intensity, it would not only hit that area but Ford City shopping center as well

[@spike378]

wow 1991! Brings back childhood memories. I used to live in the Bridgeport area and I remember this one time the sky turned yellow and there was strong gush of wind. Everything just went flying. I believe there is no siren in bridgeport area. I only go to Bridgeview for DMV haah

[@matrim5473]

Wow, awesome video! I'm assuming this is the famous Plainfield tornado? Looks scary and sounds like you guys were lucky. Thanks for sharing this!!

[@patrickhamilton6677]

There is no video or pic of Plainfield tornado

[@ILoveOldTWC]

@@patrickhamilton6677 This is 7 months later, almost to the day.

[@unfazedd9558]

Hey I have a question

[@RailsChicago]

I'm pretty sure this was the same supercell storm.

[@RavenEffect341]

You said you were around 79th & Harlem for this? I was right at 79th & Harlem for this and it wasn't this close? I remember looking at it to the west down 79th St almost into Justice? It looked like it was around 79th & maybe Oketo? Any idea where this funnel cloud was actually over, intersection-wise and which way it was moving?

[@peteyp123]

Remember this day so vividly. I Remember that old wendys on Harlem

[@papayapuppy999]

They moved to 79th

[@peteyp123]

Yeah after a couple years when they left harlem

[@superzig311]

No, I was on the North side of 79th, I went to Fry. After looking more closely at the video I realized it was right behind the Wendy's there. My aunt was a teacher at Murrdoch for a while. I lived right by the high tension lines that ran across 79th.

[@frenchyrock94]

wow, my mom was coming home from work that day...man she was lucky she made it safe or else i wouldn't have been born 3 years later x.x

[@RailsChicago]

shot to death where???

[@MrSoldierperson]

Isn't that the old building where now Walgreens stands?

[@WINSOXWIN]

More coming tonight and this weekend get your cameras ready, you never know. I didn't have time to get a camera when I got this so I just used my crappy cellphone but I am glad I had it otherwise I never would have got it becsue it dissapeared so fast.

[@patrickhamilton6677]

You had a cellphone in '91? LMAO

[@RailsChicago]

That's because they were for two different cities. The Bridgeview and Burbank sirens are relatively close to one another.

[@RailsChicago]

The battery didn't die, if you watched it the funnel dissipated.

[@Tigers9596]

This looks more like a loundspout or a cold air funnel

[@BellyJae]

interesting that all the sirens started at different times, almost 2 minutes apart each. awesome footage though :)

[@CentralALSirens]

FS 2001 Vs Thunderbolt 1000T

[@giantleprechaun2350]

That’s so weird how at the end of the video the sun starts shinning.

[@RailsChicago]

Fred Savage is from the Chicago area though.

[@RailsChicago]

what the hell are you talking about?

[@RailsChicago]

If you went to Maddock you probably knew my brother then.

[@wwejheaton]

were you scared?

[@giantleprechaun2350]

What happened at 4:40? Did Wendy’s lock their doors?

[@michaelaccardofrontczak]

One year before I was born.

[@brandnamefootage]

damn i used to live there.....till my dad got shot to death in front of our house in 94

[@MrSoldierperson]

Never mind....I see you're by the nursing home off of Harlem Avenue.

[@checkmate440]

I use to go to the drive in there the Sheridan

[@Parally]

tornado sirens!!!!!! =O

[@ericvonp]

DUKES!

[@fullygrown1101]

Bro I live in brigeview

[@icantaffordagoodcamera7268]

😂