Cleanup Continues After EF-2 Tornado Hits Lena, IL

On Friday, April 17th, the small village of Lena, IL was rocked by a destructive tornado, which has now been confirmed to be an EF-2. Being that the storm took roofs off of buildings, damaged homes, uprooted trees, and rendered rural roads impassable for a significant period of time, the cleanup continues in Lena.

Per ABC 7 Chicago, at least eight tornadoes were confirmed to be in the northern Illinois region. That's on top of Illinois already leading the nation in tornadoes for 2026.

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Thankfully, despite initially conflicting reports, no deaths were reported during Friday's storms. The storm ripped through the Midwest, delivering heavy rain, strong winds, hail in some locations, and in Lena's case, a tornado that caused widespread destruction. The tornado that rolled through Lena had peak winds of around 130 mph, per CBS Chicago.

The Stephenson County Emergency Management team revealed that surveys and assessment of damage are ongoing, and with that could come the tornado being upgraded to an EF-3, depending on the extent of the damage. Lena-Winslow Junior High School remained closed through Tuesday.

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CBS caught up with Val Hanson, a woman who lives in Dakota, IL, who came to Lena to volunteer to help cleanup:

The magnitude of the disaster was so huge, and so we have people from all over, as you know. I'm in Dakota. [Illinois]. We didn't know some of these folks. Most of them, we didn't know until we showed up, but they just need so many help - Val Hanson, per CBS Chicago

As of this writing, power has been restored to nearly all of Lena, and the American Red Cross was on site in Winnebago and Stephenson counties on Monday to distribute supplies.

Read more about the ongoing cleanup efforts taking place in Lena, IL following Friday's devastating tornado on ABC 7 Chicago's website.