The National Weather Service confirms a tornado did touch down in a rural section of northern Illinois Monday. Forecasters say the small tornado was on the ground for about five minutes in Lee County. The twister carried wind speeds of up to 85-miles an hour. Farm fields made up most of its path; however, several utility poles were knocked down.
Officials say straight-line winds from the same storm were much more powerful. They destroyed several large grain bins south of Dixon.
Matt Cessna of the Consolidated Grain Barge Company says nothing was being stored inside the bins at the time of the storm. Cessna says each structure held up to 350-thousand bushels.
While they didn't lose much in the way of product, Cessna says the race is on to have everything up and running by this year’s harvest.
"We are already putting plans together and we hope to be operational by the fall" Cessna said.
Cessna doesn’t think consumers will be affected by the situation. He says they’re just grateful no employees were injured when the grain bins toppled over.