Coal City is a village in Grundy and Will Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is considered a fringe town of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 5,587 at the 2010 census. Its school district serves an area with over 11,000 residents. It is served by Interstate 55. The Santa Fe Railway formerly served Coal City at Coal City Station. The village was impacted by two notable tornadoes in recent history, once in 2013 and again 2015. History Coal City was incorporated in 1870, named for coal mines in the vicinity that were built following the 1820 discovery of large coal reserves. During the 20th century, coal mining operations in the area declined, with the local economy being driven more by growth in manufacturing and the construction of nearby power plants, including Dresden Nuclear Power Plant and Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station. Weather events 2013 tornado A tornado passed through Coal City damaging a number of homes during the tornado outbreak of November 17, 2013. The National Weather Service rated the tornado an EF2. The max wind speed was rated at 122 miles per hour, with a reported path length of 12.9 miles. 3 injuries would be recorded. 2015 tornado A confirmed EF3 tornado passed through Coal City during the outbreak of storms and tornadoes on Monday, June 22, 2015. The tornado touched down near Morris, Illinois, before entering Coal City, damaging and destroying a number of homes and businesses. According to the National Weather Service, winds reached 160 miles per hour as the tornado touched down, making it the most powerful tornado to hit the region since the Plainfield, IL tornado in August 1990. Geography Coal City is located at . According to the 2010 census, the town has a total area of , of which (or 98.00%) is land and (or 1.80%) is water. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 4,798 people, 1,872 households, and 1,306 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 1,958 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.46% White, 0.13% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.02% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.90% of the population. There were 1,871 households, out of which 36.1% had children under the age of