Tornado Warning at the Illinois Railway Museum! July 18, 2015

"The National Weather Service in Chicago has issued a --- Tornado Warning---for McHenry County in Northern Illinois. National Weather Service Radar has indicated a line of severe weather including radar indicated rotation..." The day broke bright and hot on July 18, 2015 and even with the forecast stating the chance of severe weather, my dad and I set out for the 2 hour drive to Union Illinois and the Illinois Railway Museum for its annual Diesel Days event. With the chance of storms on my mind, a thought passed through that had bothered me for years..."What would we do if a tornado ever hit the museum during an event?" With no underground facilities or basements, we would be in a bad predicament. But, with a lifetime of studying weather under my belt, I trusted I would see trouble coming and keep us safe. But...Mother Nature rarely plays by the rules. As the volunteers were staging their iron horses for a display of sound and smoke for an eager crowd, clouds quickly began to form and darken overhead. A first check of the radar on my phone showed the early stages of a storm forming to the southwest. While it appeared to keep an easterly track, the wind was making me suspicious. Suddenly, a different sound filled the air, three dozen phones buzzing with the NWS emergency weather tone. A second check of the radar showed the storm taking an abrupt turn to the northeast, setting it on course to pass the museum grounds. As people fled the station concourse, a heavy driving rain began to fall, first sideways and then back upward! As I gathered my camera and accessories, the wind tore branches off the trees sending them flying as I joined my father and ran for cover, which would be hard to find. When several groups of people ran for the nearest building, the all shut the doors behind them, locking them. We ran for a Rock Island commuter car and found the vestibule packed tight. In a final act of desperation, we took refuge under the car. A steady howling wind can be heard in the distance, wrapped in rain and muffled from its true hellish roar. And then, it was gone, just as fast as it appeared. The driving wind, the soaking rain, the crashing thunder, seemingly chased away by the sun. As people began to venture out into the open, work resumed. Then, a sudden quiet followed by a distant low rumble...our fears began to return but were quickly taken away when the distant rumble produced an air horn. Waiting just to the west for the weather warning to clear was a loaded UP auto rack. Three EMDs make a nice sight getting the train up to track speed. Official reports indicate three confirmed funnel clouds, and one possible touch down, all within a couple miles of IRM. I and all others in attendance that day will never forget, and some may never know, just how close we all came to not going home that day. As a side note, the following year was almost as bad. While driving home, we encountered severe storm driving on Interstate 39 south between Mendota a