On April 21, 1967, a catastrophic weather event unfolded as three F4 tornadoes wreaked havoc across northern Illinois, including the Chicagoland area. These tornadoes formed part of a broader outbreak that resulted in 45 twisters sweeping through the Midwest. Notably, two of the F4 tornadoes descended upon Chicagoland, specifically impacting Oak Lawn and Lake Zurich, while a third struck in Belvidere, a suburb of Rockford.
The toll from these devastating tornadoes was severe, resulting in 58 fatalities across the affected regions. In Oak Lawn, the tornado hit during the busy rush hour on a late Friday afternoon, causing chaos as it tossed approximately 25 to 40 vehicles in multiple directions. Homes were obliterated by the tornado, which spanned an entire block and claimed 33 lives. In Belvidere, the disaster was equally tragic, with 24 people losing their lives, including 13 fatalities occurring in a high school where the tornado left hundreds more injured.
In the aftermath of the tornadoes, much colder air permeated the region, leading to an unusual occurrence of accumulating snowfall a mere couple of days later. On April 23, Chicago and Rockford experienced an unexpectedly heavy snowfall, each recording over three inches, an anomaly for that time of year in late April. The combination of tornado destruction and subsequent snowfall marked an extraordinary sequence of weather events in northern Illinois.