More than 35 million Americans from Wisconsin to Oklahoma faced a severe weather outbreak Friday that produced violent storms and tornadoes across multiple states. By early evening, 12 tornadoes had been reported across five states, and a tornado was confirmed on the ground in Illinois.
A powerful storm, believed to be a tornado, ripped through the village of Lena in Stephenson County in northwestern Illinois Friday afternoon, leaving widespread damage to homes and businesses, scattered debris and downed power lines. Authorities reported no deaths or serious injuries; the Stephenson County sheriff planned a Saturday morning press briefing on the response.
A tornado warning in the Milwaukee area prompted evacuation of the Air Traffic Control tower at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. The highest risk for strong tornadoes was central and southern Wisconsin through eastern Iowa, while the northern halves of Illinois and Missouri faced the greatest risk for destructive straight-line winds.
Tornado watches were in effect for parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri — including Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago — through 11 p.m. CT. Forecasters warned of the possibility of intense tornadoes, wind gusts up to 75 mph, and large hail. As storms developed Friday afternoon, meteorologists warned discrete supercells could produce very large hail, strong tornadoes and destructive straight-line winds.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center upgraded the outlook, issuing a level 4 of 5 “moderate risk” for portions of northwest Oklahoma, central and eastern Kansas and west-central Missouri, covering cities such as Kansas City, Wichita and Topeka. Thunderstorms later in the day were expected to potentially bring baseball-size hail or larger, destructive winds up to 90 mph and additional tornadoes.
Flash flooding was also a concern, with flood watches posted from Missouri to northern Michigan. The outbreak followed earlier flooding and tornadoes that affected the region this week. The NWS confirmed at least 28 tornadoes across nine states from California to New York this week, with Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois among the hardest hit.
Additional rainfall from the current system — an extra 1 to 3 inches in some areas — threatened already saturated soils, increasing river flood risks and the possibility of sinkholes. Earlier in the week, a 41-year-old man was killed by a lightning strike in a parking lot in Waukesha County, Wisconsin.
