12/08/2026
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12/08/2026
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In this image made from video, damage caused by a strong storm is seen a home in Tinley Park, Ill on Aug 11. (AP)
CHICAGO, Aug 12, (AP): Severe weather cut power to more than half a million people in the Chicago area and northwestern Indiana as perilous thunderstorms and tornadoes pummeled the region Tuesday, causing widespread damage and bringing lightning that injured people at an Ohio prison.
Tornado warning sirens howled as the skies darkened. All flights were temporarily stopped at Chicago’s two major airports, and officials warned of delays as the backlog was cleared. In Ohio, power outages swept the state capital region, and at least one death was reported.
Sixteen incarcerated people were hospitalized, including one who was transported by helicopter, after lightning struck at a prison complex southwest of Cleveland, according to the Ohio Department of Corrections. The victims were injured as they returned from an evening meal at Grafton Reintegration Center, department spokesperson JoEllen Smith said in an email Tuesday evening. Their conditions weren't immediately known.
Two tornadoes touched down just south of Chicago, the National Weather Service said Tuesday night. Photos posted on social media from the Chicago area, and across the state line in Indiana, showed flooded roads, trees tangled in power lines and homes with gashes in their roofs.
"No power. It was very scary. We were down in the basement,” said Javid Jenkins of Homewood, a Chicago suburb. "We’re built for snow. We’re built for cold. We’re not built for this.” Jenkins, 54, said he was driving around for gas to fire up a generator to preserve food in his refrigerator.
Forecasters said a wind gust of 99 mph (159 kph) was recorded in Gary, Indiana. Elsewhere there were numerous reports of gusts of 80 mph (128 kph) or more at personal weather stations.
Preliminary information indicated that the intense system that swept from Iowa into Indiana over several hours qualified as a derecho, the weather service's Storm Prediction Center said Tuesday evening. Derechos are prolonged straight-line wind events that unleash heavy rainfall and travel far distances. The damage they cause is sometimes comparable to the destructive forces of tornadoes or hurricanes.
The weather service bluntly warned earlier in the day: "These are dangerous storms!” More than 600,000 customers lost electricity in Illinois and Indiana, according to poweroutage.us. Lake and Porter counties in Indiana and Will County, south of Chicago, were especially hard hit. Farther east in Ohio, at least 250,000 customers were without power.
