Chicago's 1st Tornado in a Decade

Chicago Had Its First Tornadoe in Almost a Decade Back in August 2016

Back in August a landspout was seen over Chicago on a Tuesday. It produced no damage and wasn't even accompanied by a thunderstorm. This was the first tornado in the city of Chicago since 2006. It was visible from Chicago's Midway Airport just before 4 for about 10 minutes and was photographed by several commuters in Chicagoland. According to the National Weather Service, the landspout touched down in about a two-block area on the city's near southwest side, south of Ogden Avenue. This was the first tornado of any kind in the city limits of Chicago since an F0 tornado downed trees and limbs on the Loyola University campus on Sept. 22, 2006. While a landspout is technically a tornado, it differs from what you may consider a tornado. Landspouts don't need a parent thunderstorm with a rotating updraft. They form when a developing towering cumulus cloud occurs over any near-surface boundary of converging winds. It was the lake-breeze boundary separating air cooled by Lake Michigan with easterly winds from hotter air over inland locations with winds blowing from the west or southwest that created this landspout. Most landspouts are fairly weak and short-lived. On occasion, they can do minor damage. They are most common in the High Plains, Colorado in particular.

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