7 tornadoes confirmed from Monday's severe storms in the Chicago area
The National Weather Service confirmed on Thursday afternoon that seven tornadoes touched down in the Chicago area during Monday's severe storms.
That is up from the five tornadoes confirmed as of Wednesday. The National Weather Service said that an EF-0 tornado touched down in Downers Grove, with estimated peak winds of 85 mph. An EF-0 tornado also touched down in Romeoville, with estimated peak winds of 80 mph.
Five other tornadoes previously confirmed include:
- An EF-0 tornado with peak winds of around 75 mph in Wheaton.
- An EF-0 tornado with peak wind near 80 miles per hour touched down in or near Glen Ellyn in DuPage County.
- An EF-0 tornado also impacted western and northwest Orland Park, Illinois.
- An EF-1 tornado impacted Country Club Hills, Hazel Crest, Harvey, and Homewood in Illinois.
- An EF-1 tornado with peak winds near 110 miles per hour touched down in or near Lansing, Illinois, and appeared to lift just east of the Illinois/Indiana state line in Munster. EF-1 damage was found around Hazel Crest.
That means the Chicago area already has had 62 tornadoes so far this year, just one shy of the full-year record of 63 set in 2024.
The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies the strength of a tornado from EF-0, the weakest, to EF-5, the strongest.
Two rounds of storms impacted all of the Chicago area and parts of northwest Indiana on Monday afternoon. A shelf cloud hovered over the city as storms prompted severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings.
As Day 4 of cleanup efforts is wrapping up, thousands of people are still without power.
According to ComEd's website, power has been restored for nearly 95% of affected customers. They say most of the remaining affected customers – approximately 22,500 outages as of 2:40 p.m. – could have their power back by the end of the day on Thursday. For those in the hardest-hit areas, it may take a little more time.
NIPSCO, as of Wednesday, only about 225 customers were still without power in northwest Indiana.
