Doppler-radar confirmed tornado blasts through Chicago's south suburbs

A tornado blasted through Chicago's south suburbs during the midday hours Tuesday.

Confirmed by Doppler radar, the large tornado was believed to be an EF-2 at minimum. The tornado was also rain-wrapped, and thus could not be seen easily.

South suburban communities including Flossmoor, Homewood, Thornton, and Glenwood were affected by the tornado. Soon afterward, the tornado passed in Northwest Indiana.

This was one of at least two tornadoes on the ground as of just before 11 a.m.

Chicago's south suburbs have already been hit hard by storms and tornadoes in recent weeks alone. On Monday, July 27, An EF-1 tornado impacted Country Club Hills, Hazel Crest, Harvey, and Homewood in Illinois, and another 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.

Those were two of seven tornadoes that touched down that day.

In Homewood on Tuesday, gigantic piles of mulch, tree limbs, and branches were already lying around from storms that hit earlier in the summer. More debris had to be removed and put into piles on Tuesday.

A tree also came down onto the roof of at least one house in Homewood on Tuesday.

The storm system Tuesday also brought winds that reached 115 mph, with potential for winds as high as 120.

"You can go your whole meteorological career without seeing one thunderstorm this strong, and here we have it," said CBS News Chicago Meteorologist David Yeomans.

In Westville, Indiana, in LaPorte County, a police officer reported he was parking his car when roofing materials, trees, and debris flew all over — and pushed his vehicle at least a foot while in park and in a stopped position.