Tornado Takes Off Part of Case Corporation Plant Roof

By Jay Sorgi and Matt Montgomery

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  • Watch TODAY'S TMJ4's Melissa McCrady report from the scene, followed by a news conference with a Case spokesman. Video by 620wtmj.com

    video

  • The inside of the Case Corporation factory where a tornado ripped off part of the roof.

Click "watch the video" to see raw video of the news conference.

RACINE - The Case IH plant in Racine County was hit by a tornado on Tuesday morning.  The tornado blew off a 100 foot by 200 foot section of the roof.

According to Case spokesman Duane Nelson, two people were injured, but the injuries were described as minor.

One woman was walking from her car to the plant and her shoes were knocked off because of powerful winds. She got a cut on her foot and was taken to Wheaton Franciscan Hospital.

Nelson also described that several garage and access doors were blown off, winds blew down a tractor trailer on the parking lot, and there was significant water damage from sprinklers.

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"It was pretty scary," said Lynn, a worker at Case.  "We were sitting there.  We heard the rumbling.  (Factory officials) said, 'Get to the middle of the plant,' and that's what we did.  We were actually by the administrative offices, and it was a matter of maybe a couple minutes.:

Lynn told Newsradio 620 WTMJ that trees were downed, and some of the cars had blown-out windows.

She explained that workers were told to go home for the day.

It is not known when the plant will reopen.