Forecasters: Illinois Twister Had Winds of Up to 190 mph

National Weather Service said a tornado that struck the central Illinois community of Washington had winds between 170 and 190 miles per hour. The meteorologists said that the storm had a preliminary rating of an EF-4. The Tazewell County storm killed one person and injured dozens of others during Sunday’s severe weather. Meanwhile, a tornado that touched down in southern Illinois near New Minden, about 45 miles southeast of St. Louis, also had a preliminary rating of an EF-4. A northern Illinois tornado near Coal City had wind gusts between 111 and 135 miles per hour, making it an EF-2. National Weather Service survey crews headed out Monday to review damage near Peoria as well as Champaign and Vermilion counties. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn declared seven Illinois counties as disaster areas after the massive storms packing funnel clouds ripped through the state.