There is footage of the Plainfield Tornado alas it shows the storm as a funnel cloud developing over Normantown, IL. The Plainfield Tornado was only 100-200 yards wide which is extremely rare for an EF5 as most EF5's are 1/3 of a mile wide or greater. Perhaps footage of the tornado exists somewhere tucked away waiting to be discovered........
I survived the Plainfield tornado on August 28, 1990. I lived on Prieboy Avenue, in Joliet, near the mall. I was taking care of my little brother and sister, when we saw a wall of rolling clouds, pulling the trees from the ground as if the trees were only toothpicks. Seconds later, as we ran for the basement, the house was gone around us. Surreal to see this footage and know it came just minutes before our lives changed forever.
I survived the Plainfield tornado on August 28, 1990. I lived on Prieboy Avenue, in Joliet, near the mall. I was taking care of my little brother and sister, when we saw a wall of rolling clouds, pulling the trees from the ground as if the trees were only toothpicks. Seconds later, as we ran for the basement, the house was gone around us. We landed in the basement, luckily, with only minor injuries. Surreal to see this footage and know it came just minutes before our lives changed forever.
I survived the Plainfield tornado on August 28, 1990. I lived on Prieboy Avenue, in Joliet, near the mall. I was taking care of my little brother and sister, when we saw a wall of rolling clouds, pulling the trees from the ground as if the trees were only toothpicks. Seconds later, as we ran for the basement, the house was gone around us. We landed in the basement, luckily, with only minor injuries. Surreal to see this footage and know it came just minutes before our lives changed forever.
Thanks for commenting, Jay. Thanks for being honest---as Jay says, do NOT try this at home...but while Jay won't do this again, it's an inadvertently historical video. And I doubt we'll see any footage of the tornado, as it was completely buried in rain. People who were hit by it and survived said they couldn't see it. And even if they did have a video camera, all I think we would see is a wall of rain. This is as close to the start of the tornado that you'll see of it, methinks.
We were well protected until I realized that if we got blown 15 foot laterally, we would have been about 50 feet over the stadium field. That's when we bailed into the press box. Our GA Margaret Nissen ducked under a bleacher seat and we "lost" her for a few scary moments. We had no idea how serious this was until we heard about Plainfield.
Sorry about the F bombs folks. It was a raw and real momoment. I thought we would see a funnel cloud moving clearly across the open fields. Instead we witnessed the amazing wall of clouds that moved from Rockford to DeKalb in what seemed like seconds.
Damn, great video! I was up there at NIU at this time. We had to stay in the Motel 6 on Lincoln Hwy while our new Stadium View 2 apartment was still being built. It was nuts! Thanks for sharing the footage.
That was the dumbest thing I ever saw anyone do, wish I could have been there... I walk in storms!
ThePostal67 3 weeks ago
Amazing!
bdkennedy1 1 month ago
I so remember this storm. I watched from my off campus apartment.
sweethotcandy29 2 months ago
This is cool how it is shot from on top of Stevenson Tower resident hall at Northern Illinois University.
dabearsfan4life 2 months ago
THUMBS UP IF YOU LIVE IN DEKALB
supdog1018 2 months ago 2
There is footage of the Plainfield Tornado alas it shows the storm as a funnel cloud developing over Normantown, IL. The Plainfield Tornado was only 100-200 yards wide which is extremely rare for an EF5 as most EF5's are 1/3 of a mile wide or greater. Perhaps footage of the tornado exists somewhere tucked away waiting to be discovered........
castleromeo 4 months ago
Amazing rare footage of this day.
stevezur 4 months ago
I survived the Plainfield tornado on August 28, 1990. I lived on Prieboy Avenue, in Joliet, near the mall. I was taking care of my little brother and sister, when we saw a wall of rolling clouds, pulling the trees from the ground as if the trees were only toothpicks. Seconds later, as we ran for the basement, the house was gone around us. Surreal to see this footage and know it came just minutes before our lives changed forever.
jenniferwarren76 5 months ago
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I survived the Plainfield tornado on August 28, 1990. I lived on Prieboy Avenue, in Joliet, near the mall. I was taking care of my little brother and sister, when we saw a wall of rolling clouds, pulling the trees from the ground as if the trees were only toothpicks. Seconds later, as we ran for the basement, the house was gone around us. We landed in the basement, luckily, with only minor injuries. Surreal to see this footage and know it came just minutes before our lives changed forever.
jenniferwarren76 5 months ago
I survived the Plainfield tornado on August 28, 1990. I lived on Prieboy Avenue, in Joliet, near the mall. I was taking care of my little brother and sister, when we saw a wall of rolling clouds, pulling the trees from the ground as if the trees were only toothpicks. Seconds later, as we ran for the basement, the house was gone around us. We landed in the basement, luckily, with only minor injuries. Surreal to see this footage and know it came just minutes before our lives changed forever.
jenniferwarren76 5 months ago
Thanks for commenting, Jay. Thanks for being honest---as Jay says, do NOT try this at home...but while Jay won't do this again, it's an inadvertently historical video. And I doubt we'll see any footage of the tornado, as it was completely buried in rain. People who were hit by it and survived said they couldn't see it. And even if they did have a video camera, all I think we would see is a wall of rain. This is as close to the start of the tornado that you'll see of it, methinks.
sebenste 5 months ago
We were well protected until I realized that if we got blown 15 foot laterally, we would have been about 50 feet over the stadium field. That's when we bailed into the press box. Our GA Margaret Nissen ducked under a bleacher seat and we "lost" her for a few scary moments. We had no idea how serious this was until we heard about Plainfield.
JayOrbik1 5 months ago
Sorry about the F bombs folks. It was a raw and real momoment. I thought we would see a funnel cloud moving clearly across the open fields. Instead we witnessed the amazing wall of clouds that moved from Rockford to DeKalb in what seemed like seconds.
JayOrbik1 5 months ago
And still there's no footage or pictures of the tornado.
inkyatari 5 months ago
Damn, great video! I was up there at NIU at this time. We had to stay in the Motel 6 on Lincoln Hwy while our new Stadium View 2 apartment was still being built. It was nuts! Thanks for sharing the footage.
TheRealFunkyBoss 5 months ago
Wow. Crazy to see footage of the wind this storm was producing prior to it hitting Plainfield all these years later. Thanks for posting Gilbert.
mesoed 5 months ago
"I think we're right in the middle of a tornado but we're too stupid to know", LMAO. Had me rolling. incredible storm and awesome video.
JSchmidt259 5 months ago
Unreal! Great find. Search "Plainfield tornado 1990" to see lots of videos of the aftermath of the huge tornado this storm produced.
Bill679 5 months ago
Almost sounds like Reed Timmer. I've been around the area since just before this and thus is the first time seeing this footage. Golden!
Yelowx1 5 months ago