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* Sun-Times…
Residents in the Chicago area took shelter and kept a watchful eye on ominous skies for hours Wednesday as tornadoes whipped through the area.
The National Weather Service confirmed numerous tornadoes moved through the area at about 7 p.m, prompting a tornado warning for Cook County and tornado watch for surrounding counties. […]
On a scale of 0-5, the severe weather threat was categorized as a 3 by the weather service early Wednesday evening. […]
City officials request that residents refrain from using extra water for showers, laundry or household chores to ease pressure on the city’s wastewater system. Residents can report a backup of water in their homes or businesses by calling 311 or going to 311.chicago.gov to report water in basements, standing water in streets and viaduct flooding.
* The Tribune…
At least one tornado was confirmed as having touched down near O’Hare International Airport, according to the National Weather Service. The poor weather briefly grounded all flights at O’Hare and Midway airports, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
While the weather service hadn’t confirmed any other tornadoes, fire officials in Elgin were on the scene of a suspected tornado touchdown that damaged 30 homes.
A NWS meteorologist also confirmed storm damage in the west suburbs, including Countryside, Elgin and Lily Lake. The worst damage near Chicago was a “roof off” in Huntley. […]
ComEd reported outages affecting more than 10,000 customers in the area with the biggest cluster of outages taking place in the East Garfield Park area, where two outages affected 515 customers.
* Elgin was hit pretty hard…
A fast-moving line of storms is believed to have spawned at least one unverified tornado as it moved through the Elgin area Wednesday night and damaged as more than two dozen buildings, officials said. […]
Dave Hoyne, who lives in the area near South Street and Shadow Hill Drive in Elgin, said he initially was watching the storm from the lower level of his home when he saw things change dramatically in a short span of time.
“It went from a very light rain to very intense rain very quickly, and then all of a sudden the phone started beeping (with) tornado warnings,” Hoyne said.
His wife, Kyla, ran upstairs to get their cat so they could take shelter in the basement.
“(Kyla) looked out the window, which faces toward the south, and said, ‘Oh, my god, look at that. It’s a tornado,’” he said.
* More from Elgin…
@ElginPD Tornado touch down. pic.twitter.com/luqriFvZWb
— Will (@W_T_M_3) July 12, 2023
This afternoon's Elgin/Plano Township tornado as it hauled east into the suburbs. #ilwx @NWSChicago pic.twitter.com/Rv4MvH5Nnd
— Matt Zuro (@IllinoisWedges) July 13, 2023
* From the bird app…
Tornado damage in Elgin, IL. Many uprooted trees, damaged roofs, garages, cars. @fox32news pic.twitter.com/Fp5TzJCFHr
— Joanie Lum FOX 32 (@JoanieLum) July 13, 2023
Crazy storm filled sky over Chicago! I don't think that crane is supposed to be moving like that when no one is in it. #ilwx #weather #storm pic.twitter.com/8rrFf3WN5n
— Craig Shimala (@cshimala) July 13, 2023
Maybe the most Chicago image I could imagine. Active tornado. Portillo’s drive thru is packed https://t.co/IRELfzQGUF
— molly glanz (@tall_moll) July 13, 2023
A rainbow appears at 741pm following Wednesday's storm in downtown Chicago. #weather #news #chicago pic.twitter.com/lpRqS9qBrq
— Barry Butler Photography (@barrybutler9) July 13, 2023
Dramatic storm clouds loomed behind the Chicago skyline after a tornado warning and storm passed through the city Wednesday.
📷 by @colinbphoto
✍️: https://t.co/9XYUMwRZ2I pic.twitter.com/wA00xZG4pb— Block Club Chicago (@BlockClubCHI) July 13, 2023
* Heh…
Yesterday’s tornados were a stark reminder: partisan gerrymandering comes with a cost.
— TribEditorialPitchBot (@altgeldguy) July 13, 2023
* NBC Chicago…
The National Weather Service confirmed early Thursday morning that “multiple tornadoes tracked across Northeastern Illinois” Wednesday, causing extensive damage to homes, yards, businesses and more across Chicago suburbs including Elgin, Campton Hills, Rosemont, Huntley, Carol Stream, Hodgkins and more.
“Between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 12, multiple tornadoes tracked across Northeast Illinois, some in very close proximity to one another,” a tweet from the NWS said. “These were spawned by rotating thunderstorms known as supercells.” […]
According to the NWS, the total number of tornado touchdowns from Wednesday has yet to be finalized, adding that a final number count should be completed as the week goes on. […]
During the storm, the NWS and the NBC 5 Storm Team confirmed some tornado touchdowns, including a “large and extremely dangerous” tornado in southern Cook County moving towards Chicago. Approximately 30 minutes later, the NWS reported a touchdown near O’Hare International Airport, where more than 300 flights were canceled.
* More coverage…
* Patch | Where Storm Hit Burr Ridge The Most: Wednesday night’s storm was brief, causing the most damage in Burr Ridge near 73rd and 74th streets, between Forest Hill and Wolf roads, the village said in a statement. Overall, the village said the damage was minimal. It advised people to refrain from approaching or touching any downed power lines.
* Shaw Local | Violent storm in McHenry County leaves damage behind: Eight residences in Huntley lost roofs, McHenry County Emergency Management Director David Christensen said. A self-storage building also had roof damage that still is being investigated.
* Fox 2 Now | Clean up and power restoration from storm damage in Missouri and Illinois: As the force of the storms downed several power lines in the area, Ameren Missouri is reporting that more than 10,000 customers are still without power Thursday morning. Half of those customers are in St. Louis County, the others affected were St. Louis City, St. Francois County, and Washington County.
* Daily Herald | Apparent twin tornadoes in Kane County, touchdowns in Streamwood, near O’Hare among storms: The tornado by O’Hare was “touching the ground intermittently” about 7 p.m. and moving east, according to a tweet from the weather service, with “additional circulations” south of O’Hare. Cook County had been under a tornado warning after a separate tornado was confirmed by the weather service east of South Elgin, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Did you get caught up in the storm?
posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 11:16 am
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did not come close. but a friend was texting, on a plane, waiting to take off, at O’Hare. another was stuck in the United neon tunnel. they were freaking out. our phones kept going off with alerts and somehow nothing came near us. those clouds…albeit huge white ones…were terrifying.
Comment by Amalia Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 11:19 am
First off, you should know that I am a fan of wild weather. When I retire, I plan to become a storm watcher and travel the plains in search of nature’s fury. From a safe distance of course.
So when I heard the sirens go off about 6:15 last night, I went out to watch. I’m a few miles east of O’Hare, and saw nothing but rain with intermittent bright sunshine. The sirens kept blaring, but thankfully nothing dramatic happened near me. I have a pal in Countryside who said their suburb got some damage, and Elgin got hit hard. At one point, people in Rogers Park were said to be in the line, and I don’t know if it got as bad as the derecho a few years ago.
WGN radio flipped to the WGN TV broadcast, and wow was that some bad broadcasting, overly dramatic, almost like they were trying to incite panic, and confusing the listeners because the announcers were looking at video. I find it odd that WGN radio couldn’t have managed its own radio coverage, but that’s another story.
I have a theory that the cool air over Lake Michigan severely weakens passing super cells so as they get closer to the lake, they lose intensity. I take a little comfort in that, if that’s true. But tornados in Chicago are rare. The suburbs get hit much harder with storms like this one.
Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 11:32 am
I watched ABC 7’s coverage last night and one of the things that jumped out at me over and over was how all the reports included “power was restored in an hour,” or two hours, or three hours.
The smart grid technology appears to work, even though a bunch of people may be going to prison for that state law. /s
Maybe the City of Springfield could learn some lessons, without the criminality, of course.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 11:51 am
=WGN TV broadcast, and wow was that some bad broadcasting=
I was watching WGN and it was pretty scary.
Which local TV station has the most accurate storm coverage?
Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 11:53 am
All those tornado pics combines with rainbows were rather wild.
Comment by New Day Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 11:54 am
“I have a theory that the cool air over Lake Michigan severely weakens passing super cells so as they get closer to the lake, they lose intensity. I take a little comfort in that, if that’s true. But tornados in Chicago are rare. The suburbs get hit much harder with storms like this one.”
This has been my theory as well and it seems to be true when you look at how rarely lakefront adjacent communities including Chicago and the North Shore are hit.
BTW, I was at the gym and they evacuated the 2nd floor weight room area. But they did it so slowly that by the time we got down, the sun was shining. It was odd.
Comment by New Day Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 11:56 am
The one that ended up in the city passed over my house in the burbs as it was developing. No tornado at that time, but the storm had a lot of visible circulation going on. These storms were pretty sneaky too, they weren’t giant thunderstorms and few of them even had any lightning. No damage out here, but a ton of rain that was very much welcome. About 4.25in of rain in a 24hr period. Now I have to go mow my lawn for the first time in what seems forever.
“I have a theory”
It’s usually the shear differential that causes some storms to weaken when they get near the lake, but not always. Sometimes that differential also causes them to get stronger. Strong storms over the lake cause another really dangerous weather situation called a ’seiche’. They are especially dangerous because it can be calm and sunny at the shore, while the storm causing the event could be 50 miles away. Then suddenly a 10ft wall of water is coming at the shore with no warning. It’s like a tsunami, but on a lake. If you like wild weather, that’s one to keep an eye out for. I’m also a fan of catching the rare glimpse of a crown flash(only seen once), and the horseshoe vortex. Google those things for more info, and see why to add them to your list. If you like the really wild stuff, try to pull up the photography of Paul M. Smith. He goes after the types of lightning most people don’t even know exists, and scientists didn’t even know existed until the 1980s.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 11:58 am
@47th ward: I have to admit that is terrible that WGN radio puts on the audio from WGN-TV. Like when they broadcast the 4 am hour of the TV news.
@rich: I was watching Channel 7 as well and was struck by the number of times they said “safe place”.
Not much happened in my area at 5600 N by the lake. It rained hard off and on a few times.
Comment by Jerry Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 12:04 pm
=overly dramatic, almost like they were trying to incite panic,=
If you think that was bad you should watch Peoria or Springfield based broadcasts. I had to turn them off, they were consistently that bad. Almost like they were exhilarated, it was just downright icky.
Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 12:15 pm
===Active tornado. Portillo’s drive thru is packed===
I guess Portillo’s management didn’t learn anything from the Amazon warehouse tornado down in Metro East. Keep selling those burgers.
Comment by Been There Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 12:24 pm
I live less than five minutes from where the tornado touched down at O’Hare, but we had friends over, I had just pulled shrimp tacos off the stove that were to die for, and there was zero chance I was going to crunch into those with a Pacifico in hand in the basement unless absolutely necessary.
I assessed the weather and saw several funnel clouds in the process of forming that we were in the path of, but the storm was moving so fast that it was clear they wouldn’t touch down near us, so we went back to chowing.
Comment by Dave Clarkin Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 12:28 pm
The twin tornado was just over a mile north of me in Kane. The speed of it’s development was the most astonishing thing. A coworker lost one side of their garage. Most important thing is no one was hurt.
Should have know something was up since the Kane County Fair started yesterday. Seems like there is always one or two nights where the weather goes nuts.
Comment by Proud Sucker Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 12:31 pm
The Trib pitchbot is unintentionally correct. I think these increased frequency in tornado warnings and (unprecdented?) local touchdowns are related to climate change. Our climate change policy would be very different but-for partisan gerrymandering.
Comment by lake county democrat Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 12:35 pm
“Keep selling those burgers.”
The storm near Elgin went from not even showing up on radar, to having that tornado within minutes. As mentioned earlier, there wasn’t even any lightning and thunder. So technically there was a tornado without there being a thunderstorm. The storm which produced a tornado by Midway actually completely detached from its parent storm on radar. It was just a vortex, spinning along without a storm.
These were very sneaky storms. The shear profile was *massive*, up to 400m/s which is practically unheard of. It didn’t lead to huge and powerful tornadoes, but there was so much spin already in the atmosphere even without a storm that a passing truck could cause enough turbulence to spin up a weak tornado. That last part is hyperbole, but just barely.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 12:35 pm
My kids were in the movie theater behind the Menards in Hodgkins probably 20 minutes before the storms hit. Not much hit our house though, just a lot of rain, which is its own issue.
Comment by ChrisB Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 12:51 pm
one bit about the coverage….too science-y. this is one of the first times that most of the weather experts got distracted by the details. at one point on WGN Michah Materre had to tell Demetrius Ivory (who is typically very good and clearly the Skilling successor) to get to the warnings. the science of what they were seeing on maps and stats and more was so wild, in some cases unprecedented, that they were captivated by it. and they were also captivated by the damage and showed too many of these results as they should have been warning all of Chicagoland where the two pieces of the storm were going. I kept switching channels and finding the same geeking out going on instead of warnings quickly. One example is the tornado being formed live on tv and Brant Miller is not telling us where it is. Exactly. Not just Rosemont but traveling NE, currently over 294 and …. it was crazy.
Comment by Amalia Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 12:55 pm
===WGN Michah Materre===
She was especially bad. She kept confusing Countryside with Elgin. And yes, they were focused on where the storm caused damage instead of where it was headed.
Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 12:59 pm
Sheltering in place at Portillos would be my second choice, after Dave Clarkin with the shrimp tacos.
Good to see Barry Butler’s photography elevated. His skyline, bad weather and everyday shots are gorgeous.
Great selection of photos here even if they put the whole rainbow-as-covenant thing to rest.
Comment by Marine Life Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 1:36 pm
I was set to return from Toronto at 5:30 pm central time when the pilot said to deplane as he was not going to take off until the ground stop at O’Hare was lifted. Finally took off at 9:30ish central time and landed safely. Having grown up in south central Kansas, I have had my share of nights in the basement while my dad would go out and look at the sky after the sirens had gone off. There the tornados would mainly hit the edge of the city and infrequently come into the town.
Comment by 32nd Ward Roscoe Village Thursday, Jul 13, 23 @ 2:57 pm