1967 Belvidere tornado

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My older sister was in one of the last cars to get out of the parking lot at Belvidere High School. My younger brother and I were on a school bus. We were on 8th St just down from the high school. The tornado picked up the bus and the bus ended up in someone's living room. [4]

Whalen recalls seeing "houses being blown off their foundation" and buses being rolled multiple times over. [7] Inside the school, almost all large windows at the library were blown in. [8] At the parking lot behind the school, over 100 cars were moved from their original positions. [8] In all, 13 students and staff were killed and a further 300 were injured at the high school alone. [2]

Path of the tornado through the southern portions of Belvidere
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Key
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F0 40-72 mph
F1 73-112 mph
F2 113-157 mph
F3 158-206 mph
F4 207-260 mph
[?] Center of the tornado
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Path of the tornado through the southern portions of Belvidere
Key
  F0 4072 mph
  F1 73112 mph
  F2 113157 mph
  F3 158206 mph
  F4 207260 mph
Center of the tornado
1967 Belvidere tornado
21 April 1967 WSR-57.jpg
WSR-57 image highlighting the Belvidere tornado at peak intensity
  1. 1 2 "Storm Data". Storm Data . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. April 1967.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "One of the worst tornado outbreaks for northern IL with three F4s devastates Belvidere, Lake Zurich, & Oak Lawn, IL". National Weather Service Chicago, Illinois.
  3. 1 2 3 Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes, 1680-1991. The Tornado Project.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "April 21, 1967 Accounts" (PDF). National Weather Service Chicago, Illinois.
  5. 1 2 3 Doyle, Mike (3 May 2011). "Mike Doyle: Lessons from 1967 Boone County tornado remain fresh". Rockford Register Star . Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Jurgens, John (April 21, 2022). "April 21 marks 55 years since the Belvidere Tornado of 1967". WREX . Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Baxter, Rob (20 April 2007). "Reliving a disaster". Rockford Register Star . Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Northern Section Of State Raked; 50 Die in Chicago Area". Rockford Register Star. 22 April 1967.
  9. 1 2 Grazulis, Thomas P. (2015). "The Ten Worst Tornado Related Disasters in Schools". The Tornado Project. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  10. Significant Tornadoes in the Chicago Metropolitan Area (PDF) (Report). National Weather Service Chicago, Illinois. October 2022.
  11. Doyle, Mike (12 January 2010). "Columnist: Man in 1967 Boone tornado photo remembered". Rockford Register Star . Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  12. Leys, Ron (22 April 1967). "High school gym becomes morgue". Rockford Register Star . Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  13. 1 2 Yuenger, James (30 April 1967). "Cries of terror — then, quickly, death and ruin". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  14. Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (PDF) (Report). Boone County, Illinois. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  15. Fox, Bridgette (31 March 2024). "1 year later: Belvidere mayor reflects on destructive tornado". WIFR-TV . Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  16. "Photos: 50th anniversary memorial for Belvidere tornado". Rockford Register Star. 21 April 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  17. Lenny, Sweet (18 March 2024). "Belvidere, Illinois Dubbed One of America's Creepiest Towns". 97ZOK. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  18. Shannon, Steve (6 March 2024). "Devastation Strikes Belvidere: The Story Of The 1967 Tornado". 97ZOK. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  19. "Fall 2022". Chicago Shorts. 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  20. Meincke, Paul (18 April 2017). "Belvidere tornado survivors remember 50 years later". ABC-7 Chicago. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  21. Kolkey, Jeff (6 August 2025). "Rockford area journalist, teacher, author, historian dies at age 76". Rockford Register Star . Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  1. Potential injury tolls from the Belvidere tornado are as follows:
    · Storm Data: 450 [1]
    · National Weather Service: 500 [2]
    · Grazulis: 500 [3]