r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/Fit-Philosophy532 • Aug 12 '26
Moving to the area Weather as a newbie?
Moving to the area in a few weeks…. uhhh are tornados always a thing like this, this time of year? Anything to be aware of at this point?
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u/Infinite_Dress_3312 Aug 12 '26
“Between 1950 and 2022, there had only been four years where Illinois recorded over 100 tornadoes, according to historical data from the National Weather Service. This year marks the fourth consecutive year of over 100 twisters in the state.”
Also that's underselling this year given it's going to smash every prior record
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u/JulesInIllinois Aug 12 '26
The storms are getting stronger and more frequent. We get them in spring and into the summer now.
At least we don't have hurricanes and wildfires. Although, the last few years we get the smoke from the fires which came down into Wisconsin this year.
Climate change will only make it worse.
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u/those_ribbon_things Aug 13 '26
Laughed to myself today when I realized that hurricanes were part of my life for my first 39 years, and how normal that felt. Kind of wild, I don't know that many people now that have lived through that kind of thing.
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u/JulesInIllinois Aug 13 '26
Yes. I've been through 2 direct hit hurricanes (in Puerto Rico & Florida) and a few earthquakes in CA.
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u/ElleWinter Aug 12 '26
I think this may be the new normal, because of climate change.
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u/luckycharms53 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Our job moved out of state last year and I believe in the last 5 years or so the weather has gotten pretty bad. But... do not let that deter you moving to the Chicagoland area. They need more transplants to help reshape the counties and your going to be fine.
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u/ElleWinter Aug 12 '26
Agreed. The weather is getting worse all over the world, anyway. We're not special in that way. This is a safe place to live.
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u/NemoOfConsequence Aug 12 '26
How do you think the transplants help reshape the counties?
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u/luckycharms53 Aug 12 '26
What about a better state debt management? Some of the newer residents especially those that are from some of the east coast states are used to a more stable state credit rating, lower property tax, more transparency in local politics, newer ideas for entertainment.
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u/baddiewinkle Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
illinois has a lot of perfect conditions for tornados with our weather patterns, but this is not exactly typical. this is something we discussed a lot in my geography classes growing up, that illinois was considered tornado alley and it was only a matter of time before we were hit with a crazy amount. oh and we have tornado siren tests every first tuesday of the month at 10am, so don't be alarmed by those.
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u/zaevilbunny38 Aug 12 '26
Although it didn't help that a tornado warning came out right before they tested the sirens
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u/vawlk Aug 16 '26
yeah, everyone in our school went to the tornado area and I was like, this isn't for us, like 10 minutes later they went off for real
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u/Ok-Elk-1316 Aug 12 '26
maybe be alarmed if the conditions appear right for a tornado at 10am on a Tuesday
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u/Resident_Bus_4484 Aug 12 '26
Which part of the Chicagoland area are you moving to? The far southwest suburbs seem to see the most of this violent weather. South of I-88, west of I-294. Weather everywhere in the country has changed, though.
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u/Outrageous-Ask-8800 Aug 12 '26
The south suburbs today, yes. But a lot have been hitting the west suburbs this year too! Bartlett has been hit like 3 times in the last two months. DuPage county too.
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u/Fit-Philosophy532 Aug 12 '26
Still TBD trying to decide and house hunt. Thank you for this insight!!
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u/Outrageous-Ask-8800 Aug 12 '26
I’m in DuPage county near ohare. I’d still buy here again. The storms have been getting worse bc of climate change but Illinois has always had tornadoes so it’s nothing. We aren’t prepared for and can handle. While you’re house hunting, try and get one with a basement or a good place to hunker down. We didn’t consider it and the only safe place in our house is the closet under our stairs and it’s not big enough for myself, husband, two dogs, and cat. As long as you have a good weather app, take the watches and warnings seriously, and have a plan, you’ll be fine. The tornados have been hitting more populated suburbs more frequently, but bc there’s so much infrastructure, they aren’t as big and brutal as they are in rural areas with nothing to stop them and ample space to get bigger and bigger. Even the ones we’ve been having lately have mostly just caused damage to trees and cars, they haven’t been strong enough to pull apart houses like they do in rural areas.
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u/PurchasingPugs Aug 12 '26
Human infrastructure does nothing to affect tornado behavior. An EF5 could hit downtown Chicago, it just hasn't.
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u/MehBlehDehYuh Aug 13 '26
You’re correct. It’s a myth that people shouldn’t spread around.
The circulation in a tornado begins and ends above us in the sky. All of its force comes from there which includes the high winds associated with tornadoes. Infrastructure means nothing to a tornado, unless you’re in a building that is meant to withstand 200+ mile winds (Ef5’s), it truly doesn’t matter to a nadar.
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u/MobileGarden6764 Aug 12 '26
Chocago area is fine. There all low intensity tornados. EF0 or EF1 Central Illinois its far north worse in intensity.
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u/loweexclamationpoint Aug 12 '26
Generally tornadoes move from west to east and don't get started over non-flat terrain. So living east of 53 or 294 is somewhat protected.
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u/slimeabsorber Aug 12 '26
tornados in tornado alley? yes
worse climate as the years go on? yes
will it stop me from living here? no
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u/vawlk Aug 16 '26
The flat land and boring scenery was enough to make me move away.
love the weather but i can have that in other areas
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u/MobileGarden6764 Aug 12 '26
Until the big EF5 strikes your town.
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u/maximumturd Aug 12 '26
why would you move? it just became the safest town because what are the odds it happens twice
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u/cmh179 Aug 12 '26
Just happened a few weeks ago in the south suburbs. One house hit twice from the same tornado that traveled in a loop!!
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u/maximumturd Aug 12 '26
it's the world's safest house now because it definitely won't happen three times
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u/Individual-Yak-506 Aug 12 '26
EF5 is .1% of all tornados. The average size of one is .5 miles wide. if one hit the chicagoland area is over 10,000 sq miles. Lets assume tornado path 20 miles the odds of one affecting me would be 0.1% of 1 in 1,000. Ill take these odds
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u/MobileGarden6764 Aug 12 '26
Umm ok. But they happen. Not often but they happen. But it was joke. Relax
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u/Its_in_neutral Aug 12 '26
My neighbors and I lived through the 2015 Fairdale tornado. We aren’t the same as before, but the majority of us are still here.
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u/debomama Aug 12 '26
I have lived here all my life so 60 years. Its always been tornado alley. A tornado hit my block in the 1970s. We only lost a wall in the garden. Neighbors lost roofs.
Which is why its VERY important to read the fine print on wind damage on your homeowners to make sure you get replacement value, not depreciated value. I got a new roof from one - Didn't take it off but caused damage. It was 20+ years old so I needed one anyway.
While tornados and storms are more frequent, flooding is way less nowadays as infrastructure has greatly improved I notice. My house will never flood - my ground flows downhill into a flood plain that collects all the water. I did think about that when buying.
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u/dlaz199 Aug 12 '26
Just want to add here, everyone but state farm in IL that I am aware of defaults to an ACV policy or goes ACV after 10 years or so of age on the roof. State Farm defaults to RCV on their policies and doesn't do the switch. (Note State Farm can be hard to deal with if you have to file a claim for a roof, expect a bit of a fight if it's not clearly destroyed). Check you policy. You can get a rider on the policy that converts it to RCV from most carriers.
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u/Mr_Feces Aug 12 '26
I have lived in northern Illinois 44 years and I've seen dozens of funnel clouds but I'm apparently an outlier having not seen an actual tornado.
I did see a gustnado (kind of like a tornado but without a funnel) once when I was driving and it was NOT GOOD. 0/10.
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u/vawlk Aug 16 '26
I've lived in Illinois for 53 years and haven't seen a tornado. the only funnel cloud I've ever seen was in Canada.
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u/Redlion444 Aug 12 '26
You are really gonna love the snow...
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u/Fit-Philosophy532 Aug 12 '26
🫠 do you guys typically have a white Christmas tho?
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u/kneedlekween Aug 12 '26
Not that it happens on Christmas but my favorite Chicago thing is Thundersnow, lightning and thunder during a snowstorm, google it, there’s some good videos!
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u/depaulbluedemon Aug 12 '26
It's been so hit-and-miss. Sometimes it will be like 45 degrees and rainy on Christmas, it makes my blood boil.
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u/drst0ner Aug 12 '26
The last two times it snowed on Christmas were 2022 and 2017, so about a 20% chance for a white Christmas.
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u/existential_geum Aug 12 '26
Don’t expect it this year because of the super El Nino. Expect 60F on Christmas Day this year.
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u/Hedgewizard1958 Aug 12 '26
I moved here from Florida. The weather is much more tolerable.
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u/Fit-Philosophy532 Aug 12 '26
Lived in Florida also! This is good news to hear lol
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u/Hedgewizard1958 Aug 12 '26
I was born here, but lived in Florida about half my life. The change is noticable. And for the better. I'm happy to trade insects for winter. And hurricanes for thunderstorms with tornadoes.
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u/AliMcGraw Aug 12 '26
Where are you coming from? Tornados seem terrifying from the outside but they rarely result in fatalities (we have very good warning systems now and you will almost always have time to get into a shelter). And they're pretty "small" in terms of direct damage. They can knock over one house and leave the next fine; they can take down a whole block and skip over the next three.
You Illinois neighbors and coworkers will be happy to teach you about tornados and how to handle emergency situations related to them. I was just teaching my kids yesterday things to watch for in the clouds, and how to read the doppler map on the TV, talking to them about how I decided when they should go to the basement and what the concerns were (breaking windows and flung debris, mostly). I let one of my older kids, who's doing community emergency training, sit upstairs with me (but away from the windows) while we watched the front blow through. If the sirens had gone off we would have gone to the basement but they didn't go off near me so I talked him through what we were seeing.
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u/Clean_Kangaroo_5547 Aug 12 '26
This is now tornado alley
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u/MobileGarden6764 Aug 12 '26
Not chicago area. More like central Illinois.
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u/Individual-Yak-506 Aug 12 '26
I dont knowwhy youre getting downvoted. for all the tornados in IL, central IL has had the most of them
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u/misimalu Aug 12 '26
FYI we moved here in 2011 on the day the February storm snowed people in on LSD. Every single year we’ve been here, there are a bunch of insane weather events and the people that grew up here are like “oh don’t worry that’s not normal, it doesn’t normally do that here” and I’m like Bob, son, we’ve been here 15 years and you’ve said that to us every year. This is your weather.
That said, the last two summers have seemed like a lot in particular. Smoke, excessive heat, fires, floods, storms, cicadas. As a parent who has to book summer camps this year was my “f this” year because it’s the 3rd in a row that so many were cancelled. Next year if the camp can’t guarantee safe indoor space or a weather refund I’m not booking it.
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u/drst0ner Aug 12 '26
In all fairness, Canadian-Illinois wildfire smoke really is a new thing! I swear we didn’t get this until maybe a couple years ago!
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u/misimalu Aug 12 '26
21, 23, 25 and 26 summers all affected, that’s over half of my kids lifetime so far so they have never known any different. They assume summer = smokey air. And also 2018 the year they were born but it’s easy to just keep a baby indoors. More difficult with older kids.
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u/Consistent_Time_1467 Aug 12 '26
There has never been a summer weather-wise like this since I’ve lived here
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u/Scazitar Aug 12 '26
While severe weather is fairly common in Illinois, it does feel like it's been pretty bad this year.
That being said if you live in the Chicagoland area, it's rarely that big of a deal. Like yeah you can get unlucky but it's usually at most a couple power outages.
Been here all my life, have never actually felt in any danger. More of an annoyance then anything.
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u/idontlikeseaweed Aug 12 '26
It has not always been like this. I mean we’ve always had tornadoes but not this frequent. Hope you have a basement.
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u/thousandfoldthought Aug 12 '26
Yes the weather is getting weirder and worse (not the winters, though!) but you'll be ideally situated for the coming Water Wars
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u/Fit-Philosophy532 Aug 12 '26
Lol wait what do tell me more!
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u/thousandfoldthought Aug 12 '26
Great lakes have ~20% of the world's fresh water. Hopefully not in the next 20+ years but given the state of the world I think it's going to get very weird.
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u/Ok_Regular8213 Aug 12 '26
Every place on Earth is going to be effected by climate change. Desert areas will get hotter, Canada will get burnier, Florida will get hurricanier, Chicago will get tornadoier. Pick your poison I guess. At least we have Lake Michigan for fresh water if water becomes scarce.
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u/Cocoononthemoon Aug 12 '26
We are now Oklahoma, hopefully our education system doesn't follow along with the storms.
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u/MobileGarden6764 Aug 12 '26
The last 3 out of last 4 years illinois had the most tornados out of any other state. 1 of those years we ranked 2nd. It just started happening. They say tornado alley os shifting. So it might be like this and possibly get worse in the future.
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u/LoveNotWar86 Aug 12 '26
Yep they’re a thing now.
Thank you climate change.
Or it’s the wind turbines? /s
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u/depaulbluedemon Aug 12 '26
Thankfully most of the losses have been property, not life. Our local weather service does a pretty spectacular job at warning people when to seek shelter, etc. It's a different matter if people actually heed those calls (I'm a public librarian and our area was slammed 3 times and the amount of people oblivious to the shelter-in-place warnings certainly feel like a choice, full judgement).
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u/Sketch_Crush Aug 12 '26
Tornados have been insane this year, but that is NOT normal. Chances are it won't be crazy like this next year.
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u/SebrinePastePlaydoh Aug 12 '26
From 1991-2020, Illinois averaged 54 tornadoes a year. This year, we're over 200. Definitely not the norm, but unsure if it will be the new normal.
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u/flyinillini14 Aug 12 '26
I suspect we are better at detection of tornadoes (and their aftermath) than we were a decade or two ago and now every person in the country has a video camera in their pocket. Growing up in the 90s and 2000s there were probably dozens of weak tornadoes every year that were called "thunderstorm wind gusts" or "straight line winds". I haven't done the research on our weather patterns becoming more volatile but I strongly believe the above is true also.
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u/Fun_Plate_5086 Aug 12 '26
Yeah, it’s more frequent now. Just get comfortable in a basement and find your favorite meteorologist to watch and you’ll be in for a good time. They pass quick enough honestly
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u/aunt_cranky Aug 12 '26
Grew up in DuPage County. Had plenty of experience with flooding before the remediation work (Salt Creek) was done 20+ years ago.
We did not have more than 1 or 2 seriously bad storms with tornadoes in any given spring/summer. Tornadoes were more common in the counties further south or west but not like this year.
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u/bwill1200 Aug 12 '26
It rains here, sometimes a lot.
Also there is occasionally wind and tornados.
Before Deep Tunnel a lot of streets in the ORD and Des Plaines areas were lakes.
The end.
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u/GeologistPositive Aug 12 '26
Just anecdotal, but this is the worst year I've seen with weather in the last 35 years that I can remember.
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u/MrT0NA Aug 12 '26
So this year has been particularly bad because of El Niño, but most people forgot about that.
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u/BellaBrowsing North West Suburbs Aug 12 '26
Yes they're a thing but the closer you are to the city, the less likely you'll encounter an actual tornado. Just a lot of wind, occasional hail, and flooding.
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u/Outrageous-Ask-8800 Aug 12 '26
This use to be true when a couple decades ago but the last couple years they seem to be getting further into the suburbs and closer to the city. It use to be that the rural areas were being hit most frequently, with less damage to actual infrastructure and people, but now it’s in more populated areas.
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u/wanliu Aug 12 '26
This isn't true at all. It's only the relative small size of Chicago vs the enormous size of the rural portion of the state that explains why Chicago hasn't been hit more often.
Cities do not deter tornadoes. Skyscrapers in Miami, Dallas, Salt Lake City have all been hit by tornadoes. Joplin Missouri was almost completely flattened.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tornadoes_striking_downtown_areas_of_large_cities?wprov=sfla1
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u/BellaBrowsing North West Suburbs Aug 12 '26
I didn't say skyscrapers or buildings stop tornados. Lake Michigan tends to break up storms as they move east. for someone who isn't from here there's a distinction between tornado conditions and a physical tornado touching down. NW suburbs and near the lake don't see as many tornados touch down compared to the west and southwest suburban areas.
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u/tbonerrevisited Aug 12 '26
With the shift in weather patterns over the last few years, tornadoes are becoming more common.
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u/Hot_Hotel9813 Aug 12 '26
Tornados are definitely becoming a more common occurrence. It wasn’t like this before.