July 14, 1917

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Urbana Courier, July 14, 1917

A mere few weeks after Illinois' third deadliest tornado hit Mattoon and Charleston, leaving 108 dead, a tornado swept Champaign County. The tornado spared Urbana while Homer and Fairmount took the brunt of the damage. The storm knocked the Ogden-Homer interurban train from its tracks, injuring seven passengers. Oats and corn were mowed down by the tornado, which was about a mile and a half wide. Crops outside the wake of the storm were beaten to pieces by hail. Several homes and barns were damaged.