“Uncharted territory.”
National Weather service offices in Illinois have issued more tornado warnings this year than all the states in so called “Tornado Alley”. So says a University of Illinois professor interviewed by a Chicago area station.
Total number of US tornadoes not really increasing, but the geographic and temporal occurrences are changing – which is concerning because of higher population density in states like Illinois. Over the last few months the area of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and parts of Michigan have been subject to a steady stream of strong convective storms, with that tornado signature particularly striking in Illinois.
Right now, most of the area is still getting scattered storms with tropical rainforest level humidity and dew points.
What would an F3-5 Tornado in Chicago’s Loop look like?
Just idle thoughts while I’m waiting at a gate at O’Hare.