Tornado destroys homes in Illinois; NFL game halted in Soldier Field

Tornadoes destroyed buildings and threatened residents in northern Illinois on Sunday after an unusually strong November storm began to sweep through the Midwest.

Photos from witnesses showed shredded homes in Washington, Ill., about 10 miles east of Peoria, as a line of late-autumn storms brought tornado warnings from northern Illinois down to southeast Missouri.

There was no immediate information available from emergency officials about the extent of the damage or whether anyone was hurt.

In rain-whipped Chicago, play was halted between the NFL’s Bears and the Ravens and fans at Soldier Field were told to take cover in a concourse as officials issued a tornado warning for southeast Cook County.

The National Weather Service reported hail the size of golf balls, torrential rains and dangerous wind gusts potentially reaching 80 to 90 mph as the storm approached densely populated northeastern Illinois.

Check back on Nation Now shortly for more updates on this storm.

Below are photos from Washington, Ill., posted by Twitter user Chris Khoury:

This was the scene at Soldier Field in Chicago, during and after fans’ evacuation from the stadium’s seating area:

Here is the extent of the storm.