CHICAGO (WLS) — Severe weather was forecast for the Chicago area on Wednesday, including the threat of tornadoes that has now moved south.
Parts of central Illinois were under a tornado watch Wednesday evening. Tornado warnings were issued Wednesday evening for parts of southern Wisconsin, just outside the Chicago area.
In an update late Wednesday morning, the Storm Prediction Center had areas south of the Chicago area under a Level 3 risk of severe weather.
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Kankakee, Kendall and Will counties and parts of northwest Indiana were under a Level 3 risk due to severe weather, while the rest of the Chicago area was under a Level 2 risk.
ABC7 AccuWeather meteorologists said the highest risk of severe weather will come from the afternoon to late evening, with the risk from 2-6 p.m. including gusts up to 70 mph and the risk of isolated tornadoes. There will still be a few storms in the area from 6-10 p.m.
The entire Chicago area remains under a flood watch until 9 p.m. Wednesday.
See also: Track power outages in your area with the ABC7 Chicago Power Outage Tracker
Ground delays were in effect for O’Hare Airport. More than 200 flights were canceled at O’Hare, with delays of approximately 90 minutes. Nearly 100 flights have been canceled at Midway Airport.
See also: Track power outages in your area with the ABC7 Chicago Power Outage Tracker
In the northern suburbs, video showed trees falling over cars amid strong wind gusts.
Illinois State University closed early at 2 pm due to the possibility of inclement weather.
A train derailed after severe storms in Monmouth, Illinois on Wednesday morning. It is unclear what caused the derailment, or whether any injuries were reported.
A train derailed after severe storms in Monmouth, Illinois on Wednesday.
Wednesday’s storm caused flooding in parts of the southern suburbs
While the flood waters had receded by Wednesday evening, despair remained for many in the southern suburbs as water swallowed their roads and flooded their homes, leaving them out to dry.
It’s a scene that’s all too common for Chicago Heights resident Ashley Saxon.
“Again, this has happened several times,” Saxon said.
The basement inside their Chicago Heights home was flooded again after Wednesday’s storm.
“It was just like a steady, slow rain, and I looked at it. It was clear,” Saxon said. “And, I sat down and within 45 minutes I came out and it had completely penetrated my house. I went down, and it was completely knee-high.”
She says her house has flooded four times in the last five years and the recent rains have caused the most damage to her house.
“And, insurance doesn’t cover it. And, the city doesn’t help,” Saxon said.
And it wasn’t just Chicago Heights where it rained. Streets in nearby Olympia Fields were also flooded. ABC7 was there as crews cleared the roads.
But for homeowners like Saxon, flood concerns are growing.
“It’s not going to help me in a situation where I’ve spent thousands of dollars on something that is clearly their fault,” Saxon said.
ABC7 left a message with the mayor of Chicago Heights about Saxon’s flooding problem and has not yet heard back. Homeowners who spoke to ABC7 said they were at least relieved that most of the Chicago area was spared severe weather Wednesday night, giving them time to recover.
Illinois is experiencing a record number of tornadoes this year
Last week’s severe weather across northern Illinois spawned 17 tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service. This brings the total number of tornadoes in the state this year to 138, just four shy of the record, and we’re only in mid-June.
Tornado Streeter was one of the worst tornadoes so far this year. The NWS says it was an EF-3 and caused widespread damage to homes and businesses in the city. But it was just one of more than a dozen tornadoes that struck last week. An EF-1 touched down in Bartlett and Naperville, also causing some property damage, although not as severe.
Illinois is approaching a record number of tornadoes this year, as there have already been at least 138 tornadoes and a record 142.
“There has been a significant unprecedented increase in the frequency of severe weather and tornadoes across the state,” said Illinois climatologist Trent Ford.
Ford says Illinois is on the verge of breaking the record for tornadoes in the state for the third time in the last four years. The current record of 142 was set in 2024. Ford says that historically, the state has seen an unprecedented amount of tornado activity over the past several years. Over the 70 years from 1950 to 2022, Illinois has had more than 100 tornadoes in a single year four times. However, there have been more than 100 tornadoes in each of the last four years, and they expect we will soon break the record for the third time this decade.
“Part of what we’ve seen over the last four years is the right conditions at the right time contributing to the long-term trend,” Ford said.
Meteorologists generally consider tornado season to be from April to June. But tornadoes can develop at any time of the year. Earlier in March this year, another EF-3 tornado struck Kankakee and Aromas Park, one of 12 in Illinois and northwest Indiana.
State climatologists say this is an unprecedented time for tornadoes and climate change is likely a factor, but he says it’s a complicated equation.
“Part of it is that we’ve been in these patterns of variability with our weather that create the right conditions at the right time,” Ford said. ‘So people might think of it as luck, maybe bad luck.’
Ford says looking at climate models suggests this trend will continue. High tornado activity may continue for years due to the environment.
Tornadoes arrive as tornado cleanup continues
Many areas are still reeling from the recent tornadoes as the next round of storms approaches.
The threat of worse weather couldn’t come at a worse time. Many people are still cleaning and recovering. And with the promise of heavy rain, some are wondering what will happen next.
Al Mills was bracing for more storms on Wednesday.
Mill said, “It happened very fast; it took about five seconds.”
He is recovering from damage caused by last week’s tornado, which destroyed his home, garage and car.
“I haven’t recovered from anything,” Mill said. “I mean, we have no electricity; the rain flooded the basement. There’s been no improvement.”
Wednesday was expected to be another challenging day for people in Merrillville, Indiana, especially with the promise of more severe weather.
Wednesday was expected to be another challenging day for people in Merrillville, Indiana, especially with the promise of more severe weather.
It’s been almost a week since an EF-2 tornado with winds of 135 mph struck a northwest Indiana town, causing widespread damage to hundreds of homes and businesses. Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported.
NIPSCO is still working to restore service to those who lost power due to the storm.
Wednesday morning, crews worked to secure the roof of a Catholic high school while Thomas and Debra Avery tried to pump out rainwater that had already filled their basement. Everything down there is completely destroyed.
“I’m just hoping I can keep the sump pump running where it won’t flood again,” Thomas Avery said. “I just finished pumping out all the water; so I have to keep this going.
And despite the challenge, like many people, the Averys are relying on their faith to carry them through.
“Just hoping everything goes OK,” Debra Avery said. “I’m just praying that God keeps us all safe in our neighborhoods because we’ve got some amazing neighbors.”
Local officials said they are also on alert and prepared to deal with any emergency. They are encouraging residents to use their tornado recovery website to find helpful resources.
Meanwhile, Living Hope Church is planning to provide food assistance Wednesday afternoon to those who need it.
There is a tornado recovery website at merrillville.in.gov/tornado. This is available to people in Merrillville with helpful resources, especially as this next round of storms gets underway.
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