Several powerful tornadoes rushed across Illinois: thousands of people were left without electricity

Severe storms erupted on July 12 in the Chicago, Illinois area, spawning numerous tornadoes and causing significant damage throughout the region. The edition told in more detail ABC7Chicago.

Photo: IStock

Hundreds of flights were canceled at Midway and O'Hare, where a tornado damaged warehouses near one of the runways.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that all commercial flights to O'Hare and Midway airports have been stopped, and outbound flights from these two airports have been delayed. Reuters.

More than 300 flights to and from O'Hare and 32 to and from Midway have been canceled, according to FlightAware.

The FAA said off-site air traffic controllers took over airspace control as field controllers needed to evacuate their towers at O'Hare and Midway. When the hurricanes passed, normal operations resumed.

On the subject: A matter of life and death: how to survive during a tornado

More than 10 ComEd customers were left without electricity after the hurricane.

The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed that a tornado had touched down in Cicero, and another was confirmed in Huntley. The exact number of tornadoes is not yet known until the NWS evaluates all the data and damage.

Below is a map highlighting areas where we suspect tornadoes may have touched down last evening. Our team will be out surveying damage today to determine exactly where these tornadoes tracked. Stay tuned for updates over the next few days. #ILwx pic.twitter.com/SafDnyI3uF

- NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) July 13, 2023

In addition to O'Hare Airport, eight tornadoes landed in the area on July 12 in the countryside, La Grange, McCook, South Elgin, Carol Stream, and Oswego.

The National Weather Service sent teams around the area to confirm the presence of tornadoes and their severity.

In Indian Head Park, southwest of Chicago, a hurricane tore off the roof of a building.

Chopper 7HD filmed a townhouse in Indian Head Park with the back wall torn off. Fortunately, no casualties were reported there.

Large branches of trees fell on cars in a residential complex and near residential buildings. Locals say that such a storm has not been seen for a long time.

@ElginPD Tornado touch down. pic.twitter.com/luqriFvZWb

—Will (@W_T_M_3) July 12, 2023

“It was very loud and the wind was blowing very strong. Everything was falling apart before our eyes,” said Indian Head Park resident Gary Malone. “This is the worst thing I've ever seen, and I've lived here for about 40 years.”

In rural areas, in the Hillsdale Road area, there was massive damage to trees and landscaping, as well as partially damaged houses.

“The wind was strong and very fast. In just a couple of seconds, the hurricane became really crazy, ”said local resident Hillary Timpe.

“It was pretty scary, but we already checked everyone and everything seems to be in order,” said Greg Timp.

The roof of one house was partially blown off and the garage collapsed. Neighbors said the woman who lives at the home was taken to a local hospital in shock but did not appear to be physically injured.

“I did the roof of her house many years ago and now I feel terrible,” 2nd District Alderman John von Drasek was upset.

Most of the houses, at first glance, remained untouched. Some had damaged roofs, shattered windows or torn cladding.

"She's shaken up, but she's OK," said Debbie Taylor, whose 95-year-old mother was home during the storm. “She was alone in the house, but she’s doing well.”

Insane #tornado footage from @IllinoisWedges of a tornado that tore through #Elgin #Illinois this evening. Debris can be seen in the air! #LSMwx ?️?⚠️ Contact @LiveStormsMedia to license! pic.twitter.com/ypH01nuLVX

— Live Storms Media (@LiveStormsMedia) July 13, 2023

The village police stated that four houses remained uninhabitable.

Homeowners definitely deal with a lot of broken windows. There is no information about the victims in the village.

At Menards in Hodgkins, high winds blew the roof off the shopping cart dock onto a pickup truck. The owner said that his girlfriend who works at the store called him when the weather cleared up. He arrived at the scene and discovered the damage.

“At least everyone is okay, that’s how I look at it. The roof can be replaced, but the people can’t,” said truck owner Jason Wojcicki.

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Hodgkins police said most of the damage was recorded in the northern part of the village at the Menards shopping center and along Lenzi Avenue. Some of the debris at the Menards parking lot came from a lumber yard hundreds of yards away, law enforcement said.

In Huntley, two apartment buildings in the Bakley area were badly damaged, with one roof blown off. Each building has four apartments, meaning eight families were forced to leave their homes due to damage, but fire officials said no casualties were reported.

“We were terrified. We were standing there, and then suddenly everything literally went in a circle: rain, trees, wind, ”said resident Tracey Pelka.

A tornado touched down just north of me and did damage in northern Illinois this evening pic.twitter.com/8NXDIr1VbT

— sawyerweather (@Sawyer_weather) July 13, 2023

Huntley Fire Chief Mike Pierce stressed that firefighters and other emergency services are responding to downed power lines, trees and tree limbs; Power outages were also reported.

Building damage appears to have been concentrated in the Bakley area. Anyone in need of help, including people in damaged homes, can meet with Red Cross representatives at City Hall, Pierce said.

In Elgin, crews loaded trees and other debris onto trucks near Rocky Gap Drive and Stony Creek Drive.

In McCook, the Skyline Motel was hit hard by the hurricane, and several families are forced to look for a new place to stay. The garage is destroyed, the roof is torn off, several power lines around the motel are cut off.

“The wind suddenly blew, there was a powerful thunder, the whole room shook,” motel resident Ty Carr described what happened. “Power lines were hitting, they were sparking everywhere. It was crazy chaos."

“Everything is gone. Everything is destroyed,” commented Rajan Patel, whose family owns the Skyline Motel.

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