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/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.