Tag: Tornado Chaser

Illinois leading U.S. in tornadoes with 140 so far in 2026

Posted on by Leave a comment
dramatic sky over rural wheat field

Thursday night’s tornado outbreak in the Chicago area continues a concerning trend of increasing tornado frequency in the Upper Midwest. With 140 tornadoes so far this year, Illinois leads the nation in tornado count for the third of the last four years. In a distant second place is Mississippi with 82 tornadoes this year, and Missouri comes in third with 62.  It’s the fourth year in a row that Illinois has surpassed 100 tornadoes. Illinois averages only 54 tornadoes per year, according to the Illinois State Climatologist’s Office.

As CBS News Chicago reported in February, we may be witnessing what climate researchers have long expected in a warming climate. As human activities add greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, a warmer climate is making the traditional Tornado Alley in the Plains hotter and more arid. This change shifts the more favorable tornado ingredients eastward into the Midwest and Deep South, and leads to more tornadoes in Illinois. Thursday’s tornado outbreak comes during the typical peak of tornado activity in Illinois. Tornado frequency typically peaks between April and June in the Chicago area. It follows a very unusual early-season tornado outbreak on March 10 that brought a deadly EF-3 tornado to Kankakee and Newton counties.

Source: Illinois leading U.S. in tornadoes with 140 so far in 2026 – CBS Chicago

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2

Costly Sacrifice: The Heart of Worship

What the world calls waste, Jesus calls worship, your sacrifice for Him is never overlooked. Bold, extravagant faith stands out in a culture that misunderstands true devotion.  “She has done…

Keep reading

States That Allow Bible in the Classroom

Texas public schools will now require students to read Bible passages and stories as part of the latest conservative push to expand the role of religion in public education—a move bound to escalate wrangling over…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

National Weather Service confirms multiple tornadoes with Streator, Merrillville among hardest hit areas

Posted on by Leave a comment
uprooted tree cut in pieces

Residents across Illinois and Indiana are cleaning up from severe damage after destructive tornadoes and severe storms hit on Thursday night.  As of Friday evening, the National Weather Service has confirmed at least seven tornado touchdowns on June 11, including an EF-3 tornado in Kouts, Indiana, an EF-3 tornado in Streator, Illinois, an EF-2 tornado in Merrillville, Indiana, an EF-1 tornado in Bartlett , Illinois, an EF-1 tornado near Dwight, Illinois, an Ef-1 tornado in Wenona, Illinois, and an EF-0 tornado in St. John, Indiana. Storm survey crews will be deployed across the area to assess the extent of damage, which officials said could take several days. 

Thousands without power across Illinois, Indiana   ComEd officials provided an update on Friday morning on the storm restoration efforts following the back-to-back storms.  ComEd said the 80 miles per hour winds had the biggest impact on their service area. Officials said nearly 3,000 employees have been working to restore power.  “Our crews are working as fast as possible to get you back online,” ComEd officials said.  ComEd’s chief operating officer said Wednesday’s storm affected around 550,000 customers. It is estmated 80% of those outages have been restored and the rest should be complete by Saturday at 11 p.m. The second round of storms on Thursday night impacted some of the same customers. Around 150,000 customers were impacted, and 70,000 have had their power restored. 

ComEd expects to restore power to the majority of its customers by Sunday.  Customers can check for alerts on the ComEd website.   As of 11 a.m. on Friday, nearly 62,000 NIPSCO customers in Indiana were without power. NIPSCO.  Gary, Dyer, and Chesterton are among the areas in Indiana most impacted by the outages. NIPSCO had to shut off power to most of the city on Thursday night.  NIPSCO customers can report outages here.  Cleanup continues after destructive tornadoes  Cleanup for the extensive damage stretching from the western suburbs to northwest Indiana is underway for the areas hit hardest.    In Streator, Illinois, about 80 miles southwest of Chicago, multiple houses were completely destroyed after a tornado touched down. Trees were shredded and came crashing down on cars and roofs.  There’s a lot of hard work ahead for cleanup and repairs, but after two days of storms, and a slew of tornadoes, Friday provided calm sunny weather as cleanup efforts began in Streator.

Several homes were destroyed, multiple cars were heavily damaged, and debris was scattered across the city after the storms ripped through. Many damaged homes will have to be torn down and rebuilt. At one home in Streator, police officers, neighbors, and a video journalist following the storms helped rescue a man pinned under debris after the house collapsed. The man suffered a broken leg and will require surgery, but otherwise will be okay. Thankfully, no deaths have been reported from Thursday’s storms in Illinois. Extensive damage also was reported in Bridgeview, Illinois, where trees were uprooted, and telephone poles snapped.  The fire chief said two apartment buildings were evacuated, and residents are taking refuge at the Bridgeview Village Hall.  The National Weather Service will be conducting a survey in Bridgeview on Friday. 

Overnight, officials in Merrillville, Indiana, warned residents of road closures in the downtown area due to downed trees and power lines. Officials said a command center was established near 61st and Cleveland streets.  “Please stay clear of any fallen utility lines or damaged utility poles as these pose a serious safety risk,” officials said.  A resident told CBS News Chicago he lost his gazebo and backyard area. “As you can see, it’s all collapsed.”  The Andrean High School campus in Merrillville will remain closed on Friday due to significant damage.  “There are active power lines, downed trees, broken glass, significant roof damage, etc., that make it unsafe,” school officials said in a Facebook post. “While we assess the damage, mitigate safety risk, and determine next steps, we ask that you please stay away from campus until we provide an update.”  Gerado Regalado, his wife, and two daughters were home at the time the storm hit in Merrillville. The storm ripped off their roof, and left barely any walls standing as they took cover. Everything inside the house was damaged, but he’s counting his blessings that his family is safe.

“We can make it again or get another one, but my daughter’s life is more important than mine, you know? It’s hard,” Regalado said. Zachary Van Drunen’s church members helped pick up tree limbs and debris out of his yard in Merrillville. Van Drunen said the wind was a lot stronger than normal. “As soon as we walked through the door, the biggest tree in my yard fell exactly where I was standing. Two seconds later, and we’d be having a completely different conversation right now,” he said. He lives right next door to Harold Curtis. He, his wife, and daughter were also home when the storm came through. They were headed to the basement when Curtis said he felt a strong gust of wind. “As I shut the door behind me to go downstairs, it’s like you felt the wind blow right in, and like in 15 seconds it was over,” Curtis said.

In nearby Hebron, Indiana, residents woke up to a destroyed town on Friday morning. Hebron resident Beth Bowen told CBS News Chicago that when she got out of her house safely, she found her garage had collapsed.  She said it sounded like “train.”  “We felt the pressure, our ears were popping, we thought the doors were going to blow over in our laundry room, it was shaking so bad,” Bowen said. “We felt the house move.”  Professional storm chaser Gabe Cox followed Thursday’s tornadoes for hours as the storms hit multiple communities, including Hebron. He said he counted at least eight separate tornadoes on his own in Illinois and Indiana, and there were more that he couldn’t get to. “This was the most significant tornado outbreak I have ever covered personally,” he said. “To see eight significant tornadoes back to back over the course of four hours, I’ve never experienced that before in my 10 years as a professional, 20 years of storm chasing.” Cox said he’s still processing what he saw and experienced during the storms.

“Honestly, you know, with storm chasing, it’s a range of emotions. There’s the excitement of it, of course. You’re seeing something just phenomenal that most people don’t get to see. Then there’s the reality of what it does, and ending the chase in Hebron last night brought that reality full scale, and so my heart sank. I feel bad for those people. I’m so thankful that they are okay, and not a scratch on them. Obviously, there’s a lot of cleanup to be done, and these people are going to need a lot of help.” In Bartlett, Illinois, a BP gas station had 18 pumps ripped out of the ground from the force of the tornado that hit on Thursday, and debris from the gas station was blown into the parking lot of a nearby Wendy’s. Surveillance video captured the moment the gas pumps toppled to the ground. Garbage cans and debris also could be seen swirling around a parked car. Sources said the driver inside wanted to beat the storm, but stayed put when rain started falling.

Debris from the gas station could be found as far away as a strip mall across the street. The gas station owner said he hopes to have the pumps replaced and the gas station back in operation within the next two weeks. Employees at the nearby Wendy’s were cleaning up for the night when the storm blew through. “I was in the bathroom, and out of nowhere, you just hear a gust of wind, and then it grows stronger and stronger and stronger, and then out of nowhere, you just hear booms, and everything breaks. The store vibrating, and then you get out, you really see the tornado from the window coming this way, and you could hear the branch fall,” Jaden Cordero said. “We were in the tornado.” Thankfully, no one was injured.

Source: National Weather Service confirms multiple tornadoes with Streator, Merrillville among hardest hit areas – CBS Chicago

Who “will render to each one according to his deeds”
Romans 2:6

Judge PROTECTS ILLEGAL Immigrant Voting

Judge Sparkle says you cannot remove illegal immigrant from voter rolls because maybe it removes citizens blocking Trump from securing US elections Source: (604) Judge PROTECTS ILLEGAL Immigrant Voting |…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

EF-3 tornado ripped through North Texas town, causing damage and injuries, officials say

Posted on by Leave a comment
destroyed village cottages and uprooted trees after tornado

A powerful storm ripped through the North Texas city of Mineral Wells Tuesday evening and caused serious damage, authorities said. Mineral Wells is located about 45 miles west of Fort Worth. The storm appeared to have blown through an industrial park, shredding buildings, ripping apart roofs and scattering debris across the area. Metal was wrapped around poles and an HVAC plant was heavily damaged, but employees had been sent home ahead of the storm.

Mayor Regan Johnson confirmed two major manufacturers were impacted, though there wasn’t an estimate yet as to how many employees would face job displacement. Debris, downed trees, and leaning power lines littered the area. First responders continued to assess the damage overnight.      City officials said Tuesday night that several people were injured and two were brought to Palo Pinto General Hospital, but no critical injuries or deaths were reported. Officials affirmed this in an update shared Wednesday morning in a press conference, noting that three more people who were hurt were also brought to a hospital via private vehicle.  Mineral Wells Fire Chief Ryan Dunn also said on Wednesday that several other people who were hurt refused transport to the hospital. Dunn said one of the patients taken to the hospital via ambulance faced a traumatic injury; the other faced a medical issue.

The National Weather Service gave the tornado that hit Mineral Wells a rating of EF-3 with peak estimated winds of 145 mph. Officials said other parts of the community, including nearby neighborhoods, were also impacted. Police Chief Tim Dennison said Oncor estimated about 2,200 customers were without power as of Wednesday morning, with that number including both residential and business customers. City officials said curfew has been put in place for the Fort Wolters area via a Declaration of Emergency Powers.

Those areas include the following locations: Energy Avenue (Country Club Estates) to the west US Highway 180 to the south Washington Avenue to the east Armstead Drive to the north The curfew was in effect from 10 p.m. Tuesday night through 6 a.m. Wednesday, and will now occur nightly from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. until further notice.

Source: EF-3 tornado ripped through North Texas town, causing damage and injuries, officials say – CBS Texas

But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

North Texas storms spawn multiple tornadoes, injure several and cause widespread damage

Posted on by Leave a comment
dramatic view of village houses damaged by thunderstorm

Powerful storms, hail up to softball size and multiple tornadoes tore through North Texas on Tuesday, causing serious damage, injuries and widespread power outages. As of Wednesday, nine tornadoes occurred in North Texas between Saturday and Tuesday night.  Tuesday, there was an EF-3 tornado in Mineral Wells with winds up to 145 mph, three tornadoes in Johnson County, an EF-U tornado in Montague County, 70 hail reports, with hail as big as just below the size of a softball, and seven damaging wind reports.  There were also tornado warnings south of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, where the NWS will analyze damage as well.

In Mineral Wells, several people were injured. The Mineral Wells storm blew through an industrial park, shredding buildings, ripping apart roofs and scattering debris across the area. Metal was wrapped around poles and an HVAC plant was heavily damaged, but employees had been sent home ahead of the storm. Debris, downed trees, and leaning power lines littered the area. Officials said other parts of the community, including nearby neighborhoods, were also impacted. This comes just days after at least two people died after devastating weekend storms. Saturday storms generated more than 100 reports, ranging from baseball‑size hail to 90‑plus‑mph wind gusts and multiple high‑water rescues across the metroplex.

Preliminary data from the National Weather Service shows an EF‑1 that struck Springtown in Parker County with winds of 105 mph and the night’s strongest tornado – an EF‑2 – that hit Runaway Bay in Wise County with winds estimated at 135 mph. Jack County also withstood EF-0 and EF-1 tornadoes.

Source: North Texas storms spawn multiple tornadoes, injure several and cause widespread damage – CBS Texas

Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
Psalm 112:6

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Baseball-sized hail, damaging winds possible across North Texas amid severe weather threat Tuesday

Posted on by Leave a comment
Tornado with debris and hail hitting a residential neighborhood with damaged houses and vehicles

The two main threats are wind and very large hail, with the possibility of an isolated tornado. Tuesday starts cloudy, warm and breezy, with temperatures in the 70s. Areas of fog are possible for the morning commute.

But it will once again be a busy afternoon with severe storms as a dry line and a cold front increase the potential for severe weather, prompting a First Alert Weather Day.

The timing of Tuesday’s storms will be between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m., with 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. being the most likely timeframe for the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. 

Source: Baseball-sized hail, damaging winds possible across North Texas amid severe weather threat Tuesday – CBS Texas

Illinois surpasses 100 tornadoes for fourth year in a row

Posted on by Leave a comment
dramatic lightning over palmas brazil

Severe weather season has been off to a very active start in Illinois, with everything from flooding, hail, and damaging winds – and more than 100 tornadoes statewide. As of April 22, the preliminary count for tornadoes across the state of Illinois stands at 101 and counting, easily leading the entire country by far. That’s nearly double the annual average of 54 tornadoes in Illinois. With our severe weather season just getting started and lasting through September, that number has the chance to go up.

The typical count for tornadoes per year across Illinois is 54, so we already nearly doubled that. As of April 19, there have been at least 20 tornadoes in the National Weather Service Chicago forecast area, which includes parts of northwest Indiana. The typical number for that forecast area is between 10 to 20 tornadoes per year.

  • March 10th An EF-0 tornado north of Pontiac, IL.
  • An EF-U tornado near Cayuga, IL (midway between Pontiac and Odell).
  • An EF-U tornado in Kankakee Township. This brief tornado occurred prior to the start of the Kankakee-Roselawn
  • EF-3 tornado. An EF-U tornado in Otto Township. This brief tornado lifted just before the start of the Kankakee-Roselawn EF-3 tornado. 
  • An EF-3 tornado that tracked through southern Kankakee and Aroma Park in Illinois and Lake Village and Roselawn in Indiana before ending west of DeMotte, IN.
  • An EF-1 satellite tornado just southwest of Sun River Terrace. This was a southward-moving satellite tornado associated with the Kankakee-Roselawn EF-3 tornado. 
  • An EF-U tornado immediately south of Sun River Terrace. This was a brief satellite tornado associated with the Kankakee-Roselawn EF-3 tornado.
  • An EF-U tornado in southeastern Ganeer Township, southeast of Sun River Terrace. This was another brief satellite tornado associated with the Kankakee-Roselawn EF-3 tornado.
  • An EF-U tornado in Momence Township, north of Hopkins Park. This was an anticyclonic satellite tornado that initially moved north, stopped, then tracked south before ending very near its starting location.
  • An EF-1 tornado that tracked from southwest of Wheatfield to near Dunns Bridge, IN.
  • April 2nd EF-1 near Palmyra and Woosung in northwest Lee County. 
  • EF-1 in Pine Creek Township in southern Ogle County. 
  • EF-0 in Holcomb in northeast Ogle County. 
  • April 17th EF-U in Pecatonica
  • EF-1 in Harrison EF-1 in Roscoe
  • EF-1 in Gibson City
  • EF-1 near Loda and Buckley
  • EF-2 in Darrow
  • EF-1 in Kentland, Indiana

Source: Illinois surpasses 100 tornadoes for fourth year in a row – CBS Chicago

How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Isaiah 52:7

Storm chaser captures video of tornado in southern Minnesota

Posted on by Leave a comment
cloudscape with gray storm clouds

Most people run to their basement during severe weather, but Melanie Metz instead runs toward the storm. The National Weather Service confirms three tornadoes hit southern Minnesota Monday night in Amboy, Matawan and Elmore. That’s on top of dozens of hail reports and even some gusts of wind nearing 60 MPH in southern parts of the state.  The weather allowed Champlin based meteorologist and storm chaser Metz to capture some seriously captivating footage. Metz has been chasing storms for 25 years. “I can’t believe it, honestly. I mean, that’s a long time when I started chasing it was before we even had smartphones, so I couldn’t see radar when I was on the road.

It’s been a long time,” she said. Monday night, her vantage point was from Truman, Minnesota — near Fairmont. She met up with a fellow meteorologist and friend to stake out the storm. She captured some incredible videos, including one which depicted an intact, super cell tornado. Metz believes it the tornado NWS pegged in Amboy.  “We ended up chasing this storm for quite a while until it finally started to organize and became a supercell and produced a couple of tornadoes right in front of us,” she said. Metz says the chase is thrilling, fascinating and combines her love of storms and photography. But—it’s not something to try without experience.

Source: Storm chaser captures video of tornado in southern Minnesota – CBS Minnesota

For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
Psalm 18:31