Leona Urquhart lived on Melrose Court, just two blocks north of Ravina Park Road which took a direct hit from the storm.
Editor s note: This story is part of a larger project looking back at the 25th anniversary of the two nights of fury, when back-to-back tornadoes struck the Decatur area. Click here for more coverage, including photos and video footage from April 1996.
âIt was horrible,â Leona Urquhart said of the tornado that hit on April 19, 1996.
Urquhart lived on Melrose Court, just two blocks north of Ravina Park Road which took a direct hit from the storm.
Urquhart came away from the experience with renewed appreciation for advance warnings that a storm is on its way. That advance warning led Urquhart to convince her mother, who lived in Wilder Haven trailer park at Mound and Greenswitch roads, to take shelter at her home, which they were convinced would be the safest option.
The April 19, 1996 tornado was one of dozens of tornadoes that cut across Illinois on a single day. David Proeber
Itâs been 25 years, but time has done little to diminish the memories of the backâto-back tornadoes that struck Macon County in 1996.
âOnce you go through something like this, you never forget,â said Kelly Miller, whose home was leveled by the tornado that hit Macon County on April 19, 1996. The community was already recovering from a tornado that hit the south end of Decatur the night before.
Millerâs family sought shelter inside their home along Wyckles Road with Lonnie McVeigh, a storm spotter they didnât know who, like them, was seeking a safe refuge from which to ride out the storm. McVeigh was injured when the chimney fell on him in the Millers basement.