A team from the U.S. National Weather Service will assess damage in northeastern Illinois on Thursday, where high winds from suspected tornadoes tore roofs, uprooted trees and caused residents to take shelter. shelter, while the sirens sounded.
The Weather Service warned Wednesday night that a confirmed tornado was on the ground near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Passengers took shelter and the storm disrupted hundreds of flights, but no injuries were immediately reported. Shortly after, the weather service assured that the Chicago area was “currently free of tornado warnings.”
The storm moved into Michigan before crossing the state and entering Canada early Thursday. Tornado warnings that were in effect for parts of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio have all expired.
The weather service posted a map on social media highlighting several areas where tornadoes are suspected to have touched down, saying they were caused by rotating thunderstorms called “supercells”. A team will survey the damage on Thursday to establish an official tally of tornadoes, their paths and their intensities.
Videos released by television stations showed hundreds of people sheltering in a concourse at O’Hare Airport. Some 173 flights from the airport have been canceled and more than 500 have been delayed, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.
Kevin Bargnes, communications director for O’Hare International and Chicago Midway International Airports, told local television Wednesday night that no damage was reported at either airport.
The Weather Service cited an unidentified emergency official as revealing that a roof was ripped off in the community of Huntley in McHenry County, northwest of Chicago.
Huntley Battalion Chief Mike Pierce told ABC-7-TV that firefighters and other emergency services were dealing with downed power lines, and broken trees and tree limbs, and power cuts had been reported.
Over the years, numerous tornadoes have struck the Chicago metro area, and several of them have fallen within the city limits, according to the National Weather Service. Between 1855 and 2021, the service recorded 97 significant tornadoes in the Chicago metropolitan area.
The deadliest formed in Palos Hills, Cook County on April 21, 1967. The tornado traveled 26 miles through Oak Lawn and southern Chicago, killing 33 people, injuring 500 and causing more than US$50 million in damage, according to the weather service.