A devastating cluster of tornadoes wreaked havoc throughout the Chicago space in a single day on Wednesday, leaving a path of in depth harm in its wake.

The violent storms prompted widespread panic, and flight cancellations, and compelled 1000’s of individuals to hunt refuge at O’Hare Airport.

The National Weather Service issued an alarming message at 7:03 pm native time, urgently warning residents concerning the imminent hazard: “A tornado is on the ground. TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.”

Sirens blared all through the area as menacing darkish clouds shaped over town.

At least eight tornadoes have been reported within the metropolis amid extreme thunderstorms.

Videos shortly went viral on social media, capturing the sight of 1000’s of individuals searching for shelter at O’Hare Airport in spite of everything air site visitors was halted.

The aftermath of the tornadoes resulted within the grounding of all departures from O’Hare and Midway airports, inflicting vital delays for outgoing flights, in response to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The harmful tornadoes tore by way of a number of counties in northeastern Illinois, together with Cook County, the place Chicago is positioned.

The NWS reported that bushes have been uprooted and roofs have been blown off within the cities of Countryside and La Grange. In McCook, an industrial district positioned 15 miles southwest of Chicago, a cinder block constructing collapsed underneath the drive of the storms.

While property harm was evident, authorities reported no quick accidents or fatalities ensuing from the tornadoes.

Earlier within the day, the Storm Prediction Center of the National Weather Service had issued an enhanced danger warning for extreme climate, together with tornadoes, in northern Illinois, particularly mentioning Chicago.

Brett Borchardt, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service, confirmed that a number of tornadoes had touched down throughout the Chicago space. Assessing the complete extent of the harm is predicted to take a number of days.

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The Chicago metropolitan space has skilled quite a few tornadoes through the years, with some putting throughout the metropolis limits. According to information from the National Weather Service spanning from 1855 to 2021, a complete of 97 vital tornadoes have been recorded within the Chicago metro space.

Among the deadliest tornadoes was the one which shaped in Palos Hills, Cook County, on April 21, 1967. This highly effective tornado traveled a distance of 16 miles (26 kilometers) by way of Oak Lawn and the south facet of Chicago, claiming the lives of 33 individuals, injuring 500, and inflicting over $50 million in harm.