( CNN ) In her 40 years living in Rochelle , Illinois , Cathy Olson had never seen a tornado that big . `` I saw the top of the funnel cloud , and it was absolutely massive , '' she said . She watched the hulking gray twister grind past her town Thursday , tearing up its fringes . Farther north , in the rural Illinois hamlet of Fairdale , one person died as a twister shredded homes and ripped trees bare of leaves and most limbs . Only the thickest branches remained standing . It was the only death reported so far in two days of tornado touchdowns . Rochelle was fortunate . But in nearby Kirkland , debris was so thick on the roads , responders searching for trapped residents could not yet assess the damage or injuries , fire officials said . On Thursday , a video surfaced on YouTube of a massive twister barreling across an open field , barely missing farmhouses and barns . Images of the funnel turned up elsewhere on social media . Multiple tornadoes ripped through the rural Midwest on Thursday . A large and dangerous twister tore across fields in Iowa . And a twister touched down 70 miles outside of St. Louis . Eight tornadoes were reported Wednesday in Oklahoma , Kansas and Missouri , the Storm Prediction Center said . But it appears residents have been fortunate enough to come away from the terrifying weather spectacle alive . Hail stones the size of tennis balls plummeted down on Ashton , Illinois . It could have been worse as severe tornado damage dotted a path not far from the dense populations of Chicago and Rockford -- the state 's third largest city . The tornado cut a 22-mile path through Ogle County , according to disaster management coordinator Tom Richter . North of Rochelle , a tornado took away a local favorite restaurant -- Grubsteakers . `` It 's kind of one of your little greasy spoon restaurants , '' said Eric Widick , who drove up in his truck to help out . `` We 're a community . If one person is in need , we 'll all be there for them . '' People were inside when the storm quashed Grubsteakers and turned over a semitruck parked outside . No one was killed or seriously injured , Widick said . Although a patron who found shelter in a restroom was trapped inside for about half an hour . People had been eating at Grubsteakers for some 25 years and will miss it , Widick said . In Rochelle , the tornado flattened some of Olson 's friends ' homes . A safe distance away from it , at her mother 's house , she had to think about her husband , Chet , who was reelected mayor of the town of about 10,000 people the day before . He 'd have a job ahead of him . `` I have not been able to get a hold of him , Olson said , `` but I know he 's in touch with the sheriff and is safe , '' she said . Sheriff Brian VanVickle told journalists late Thursday that the tornado had spared life and limb in Ogle County aside from some people whose injuries were easily treatable . The county lost 20 homes -- one of them was his own . Fifty to 100 houses had significant damage , he said . Only foundations remained of some homes , said storm chaser Dan Gottschalk . `` You can hear the hissing everywhere from where the structures used to be , '' he said . Lindsey Clark , a reporter from CNN affiliate WREX , said rescuers were pulling trapped people from a home in the Rochelle area . VanVickle was newly elected sheriff of Rochelle on Wednesday . On Thursday , the storm took his house and his sister-in-law 's . `` I 've got the clothes on my back , '' he said . But his family was n't at home when it hit . `` My family was on the way to Louisville , dog was in the basement and she survived . '' It was the first tornado the sheriff had ever seen in his county . `` I 've lived here all my life , am the fifth generation in the county . My mom said this is the first time she 's ever seen a tornado . '' He is thankful that the National Weather Service warned one could come . That saved lives , he believes . The service warned of a `` particularly dangerous situation . '' People across the Midwest should be on alert for severe weather . Tornado watches were set to run out early Friday . CNN 's AnneClaire Stapleton , Catherine Shoichet , Greg Botelho , Dave Alsup , Steve Almasy , Jack Maddox and Sean Morris contributed to this report .
At least one person died as a result of storms in Illinois , an official says . Score: 6