NWS Survey Confirms EF-1 Tornado Collapsed Roof and Walls of Rivian's New R2 Assembly Building in Normal, Illinois
The National Weather Service's Lincoln, Illinois office classified the April 17 tornado as EF-1 with peak winds of 110 mph, and its damage survey explicitly cited the collapse of a roof and walls at Rivian's Manufacturing Center. Rivian said no one was injured and plans to resume operations in the damaged R2 building this week, with customer deliveries still targeted for June.
An EF-1 tornado with peak winds of 110 mph touched down at 8:57 p.m. CDT on April 17 on the west side of Normal, Illinois, and traveled 10.3 miles northeast through Towanda, according to the damage survey published by the National Weather Service's Lincoln, Illinois forecast office. The survey's description of the tornado's structural damage is unambiguous:
"The roof and some of the walls of a new building at the Rivian Manufacturing Center collapsed."
The same survey documented tree damage throughout Normal and Towanda and a semi truck flipped on Interstate 55 within the tornado's path.
What was hit
The damaged structure is part of the 1.1-million-square-foot expansion that Rivian built on the east side of its Normal campus to house body-shop and general-assembly operations for the R2, the mid-size SUV the company is scheduled to begin delivering to customers in June. Rivian spokesperson Marina Hoffmann told reporters in an email that "once we secure the impacted area, we anticipate resuming operations in Building 2 (specifically for R2) this week," and that operations at the company's other facilities were continuing as planned. No injuries were reported.
The Normal plant is currently Rivian's only operating vehicle-assembly facility. A Georgia plant remains under construction.
The broader storm
The Normal–Towanda tornado was one of at least five confirmed in McLean County alone during the April 17 outbreak, according to the NWS survey. The event produced tornadoes rated EF-0 through EF-1 with peak winds ranging from 86 to 110 mph, tracking across Bloomington, Normal, and points northeast; the longest single track ran 33.8 miles from the Shirley area through Funks Grove, Downs, and Ellsworth. Thousands of customers lost power in McLean County. The county declared a local emergency.
Central Illinois NWS offices have been conducting on-the-ground damage surveys since Saturday morning, with survey teams from both the Lincoln (ILX) and Chicago (LOT) forecast offices covering affected counties.
Where R2 stands
Rivian's R2 program is the central plank of the company's plan to reach profitability. Public filings and company guidance have put 2026 production in a range of 62,000 to 67,000 vehicles, with 20,000 to 25,000 of that total expected to be R2s. The Performance Launch Edition was announced at $57,990, with customer deliveries scheduled to begin in June.
Building 2 is where R2 body-in-white construction and final assembly take place. Rivian has said the damaged area is "a newer part of the factory, primarily used for R2 logistics," though the NWS survey's language — the roof and some of the walls collapsed — indicates structural damage, not cosmetic roof loss. Rivian has not issued an SEC 8-K addressing the event or publicly revised its R2 delivery timing as of Tuesday.