FOLLOW US

Some tornadoes announce themselves. This one didn't — and that may be exactly why it caught so many south suburban Chicago residents off guard.

A large tornado, believed to be at least an EF-2, tore through Chicago's south suburbs during Tuesday's midday hours. Confirmed by Doppler radar, the storm was rain-wrapped, meaning it was largely hidden from view by the surrounding downpour even as it caused significant damage on the ground below.

Where It Hit

The tornado moved through south suburban communities including Flossmoor, Homewood, Thornton and Glenwood before crossing into Northwest Indiana. It was one of at least two tornadoes confirmed on the ground as of just before 11 a.m. Tuesday.

In Homewood, the destruction compounded damage that hadn't even been fully cleared from earlier in the summer — massive piles of mulch, tree limbs and branches from previous storms were still sitting around town when Tuesday's tornado added fresh debris on top of it. At least one house in Homewood took a direct hit, with a tree coming down onto its roof.

South suburban Lansing, Illinois, saw similar destruction: trees down on homes and cars, roads blocked by debris, and power lines knocked out across the area.

A Region That Keeps Getting Hit

For south suburban Chicago, Tuesday's tornado wasn't an isolated event — it was the latest chapter in a summer that has repeatedly put the region in a tornado's path.

Just over a week earlier, on Monday, July 27, an EF-1 tornado struck Country Club Hills, Hazel Crest, Harvey and Homewood, while a separate EF-1 with peak winds near 110 mph touched down in or near Lansing before lifting just east of the Illinois-Indiana state line near Munster. Those two tornadoes were part of a larger outbreak that day — seven tornadoes touched down across the region within hours of each other.

Now, weeks later, some of those same communities are cleaning up all over again.

Winds That Stunned Even the Experts

Tuesday's storm system wasn't defined by the tornado alone. Straight-line winds accompanying the system reached as high as 115 mph, with the potential to hit 120 mph in the strongest cells.

CBS News Chicago Meteorologist David Yeomans put the intensity in career-spanning terms, saying it's possible to go an entire meteorological career without seeing one thunderstorm this strong — and Tuesday's system delivered exactly that.

Wind gusts recorded across the region backed up that assessment: 99 mph in Gary, Indiana; 97 mph in Sugar Grove; 96 mph in Shorewood; and 91 mph in both Bradley and Mokena.

A Close Call in Indiana

In Westville, Indiana, in LaPorte County, one police officer had a close encounter with the storm's force firsthand. While parking his patrol car, roofing materials, trees and debris were flung around him — with enough force to physically push his vehicle at least a foot, even though it was parked and stopped at the time.

Elsewhere in Northwest Indiana, downed power lines forced the closure of Interstate 65 at I-94 Tuesday afternoon, according to Indiana State Police.

What Comes Next

As cleanup begins across yet another round of storm-damaged communities, the bigger question hanging over south suburban Chicago is less about this particular tornado and more about the pattern it fits into — a summer where residents have had to rebuild from one storm only to find themselves doing it again before the debris from the last one was even fully cleared.