The above photo appears to be taken south of the Tornado on Rt. 251 as it was traveling from left to right and approaching the intersection of Rt. 251 and Rt. 64 where it destroyed the Grubsteakers restaurant and trapped 12 people in the basement.
http://abc7chicago.com/weather/12-peopl ... ar/646274/
Living in Rochelle I can say that the main tornado missed our town. It touched down west of us near Ashton and tracked East North-East at about an EF-2 stage when it entered Skare Park, about 4 miles from our house (as the crow flies) which was the closest it came to us. There it leveled trees and had a ground track of about 100-200 yards. As it traveled it increased in size and power so that by the time it crossed I-39 it was probably EF-4 power with a 1/4 to 1/2 mile wide ground path. When it hit Fairdale it was still at EF-4 stage. 2 deaths reported. I talked to a resident of Fairdale whose home only had a tree fall on its roof but essentially all homes in Fairdale are destroyed or sustained damage. 11 people were hospitalized. We have friends that lost their homes but have no injuries as they made it to their basements. We have media teams from Chicago for the major networks. My wife assisted in the clean-up operation for a friend in our church today who lost her house as I took care of our son. The volunteer response has been from all around the State.
For a video of the tornado as it passed over I-39 and nearly lifted the vehicle from which the video was taken:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGmJCB0 ... cation=ufi
And this video caught the flipping of a semi truck onto its side on I-39:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10 ... 11&fref=nf
Steve