Severe weather system impacts millions across U.S. with heavy rain, hail, damaging winds and extreme heat
A powerful multi-day severe weather outbreak swept across the Midwest from Tuesday through Thursday, spawning at least a dozen confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin, killing one man in Des Moines and causing widespread destruction including downed trees, crushed homes, and nearly 500,000 power outages. The storm system was driven by a large dip in the jet stream funneling cool Canadian air into warm, humid air from the South, producing conditions capable of all severe weather hazards including destructive straight-line winds topping 90 mph, large hail, and flash flooding. The outbreak disrupted air travel at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports and JFK in New York, canceling or delaying over 1,000 flights, while a simultaneous dangerous heat wave pushed heat indices near 100°F across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
Beginning Tuesday and intensifying through Thursday, June 10–12, 2026, a major severe weather outbreak affected tens of millions of people from the central Plains to the Great Lakes and Northeast. Supercell thunderstorms produced hurricane-force wind gusts — including 90 mph winds in Kansas and 70+ mph gusts in Chicago — along with large hail and confirmed tornadoes across northern Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Among the hardest-hit communities was Streator, Illinois, where a large tornado destroyed homes and trapped at least one man in rubble; he was rescued by a storm chaser and police officers, and the city's mayor confirmed no fatalities there. In Merrillville, Indiana, a tornado ripped the roof off a high school and blocked streets with downed trees, while mobile homes were obliterated in Unionville, Missouri. The sole confirmed fatality was a 54-year-old man at a Des Moines homeless encampment struck by a falling tree on Wednesday. Rainfall forecast charts showed the heaviest accumulations of 2–3+ inches centered on Chicago and the upper Midwest, contributing to flash flooding that stranded cars and flooded basements across cities including Chicago's West Side and Ames, Iowa. By Friday morning, nearly 500,000 customers remained without power across Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan, with Commonwealth Edison alone reporting 480,000 customers affected in northern Illinois and estimating 80% restoration by Saturday night. The storm system was simultaneously accompanied by a dangerous heat wave along the East Coast, with heat indices approaching or exceeding 100°F prompting Philadelphia to declare a heat health emergency and New York City to open cooling centers.
Data: TODAY Weather / NBC
What's missing
No source provided official EF-scale ratings or preliminary survey results for the confirmed tornadoes, including the Streator and Merrillville events; the National Weather Service was noted to be conducting post-storm surveys but findings were not yet available. The total number of injuries across the outbreak also remained unconfirmed across all sources at time of publication.
How coverage differed
The New York Post led with the broadest population figure (135 million affected) and emphasized meteorological mechanics such as the jet stream dip and dew point conditions, framing the story primarily as a forecasting event. Left-leaning outlets like NBC News and The Guardian gave more prominence to human impact — the Iowa fatality, residents rescued from rooftops, and community responses — while also connecting the outbreak to El Niño and broader climate trends, context largely absent from right-leaning coverage.
What different sources said
- NBC NewsLeft
Severe weather leaves millions across the U.S. bracing for heavy rain, hail and damaging winds
- New York PostRight
Storms knock out power in the Midwest and disrupt Chicago flights
- 5 EYEWITNESS NEWSCenter
More rain and storms possible Wednesday night
- CBS NewsCenter
1 killed in Iowa as severe storms, suspected tornadoes slam Midwest
Tornadoes Are Reported in Illinois as Storms Sweep the Midwest
List of active weather alerts as severe weather moves through Southeast Michigan
- NewsweekCenter
Urgent Warnings Issued as 'Extremely Dangerous' Tornado Forms in Illinois
- Block Club ChicagoCenter
Tornado Watch Issued For Chicago Area As City Cleans Up From Damaging Storms
- AP NewsCenter
Storms knock out power in the Midwest and disrupt Chicago flights
- MLive.comCenter
‘Strong to Intense’ tornado, widespread high-end gusts possible today over large part of Michigan
- GothamistCenter
Brutal heat, wild storms and maybe tornadoes in NY, NJ possible starting Thursday
- The HinduCenter
Despite monsoon setting in, heatwave conditions forecast to persist in Telangana till weekend
- Washington TimesRight
Storms knock out power in the Midwest and disrupt Chicago flights
- ABC7 ChicagoCenter
Chicago, IL weather forecast: More severe thunderstorms expected Thursday with tornado risk; Tornado Watch for area | Radar
- WAND-TVCenter
Tornado warnings issued for parts of central Illinois
- The Straits TimesCenter
Chicago airports cancel flights with tornado alert in place
- PBS NewsHourLeft
Midwest storms blamed for Iowa death, power outages and flight delays while heat hits the East
- FOX WeatherCenter
Live updates: Vicious storms target the Northeast after derecho blasts the Midwest with 90 mph winds
- KCCICenter
Iowa weather: See photos, videos of Thursday's powerful storms
- Bring Me The NewsCenter
Where will the worst storms hit? Tornadoes possible in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa
- MPR NewsCenter
Severe storms down trees, knock out power to thousands across Minnesota
- PatchCenter
Confirmed Tornado Touches Down As Severe Storms Slam Illinois
- The IndependentLeft
Tornadoes struck communities near Chicago as millions faced severe weather threats across the Midwest and East Coast
- BBC US & CanadaCenter
Storm chaser digs man out of rubble after tornadoes rip through US Midwest
- The Guardian USLeft
Tornados tear through Illinois – video
- NBC NewsLeft
Multiple tornadoes leave a path of destruction across the Midwest
- UPICenter
Tornadoes, storms damage homes in the midwest, 1 dead
Related
CIS Study: Non-Citizen Households Use Welfare at Higher Rates Than U.S.-Born Households in Nearly Every State
A new analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies found that 47% of non-citizen-headed households used at least one means-tested welfare program, compared to 28% of U.S.-born-headed households. The study drew on five years of Census Bureau data and found the gap persisted across nearly every state, with the largest disparities in New York, Massachusetts, and California. The findings reignite a long-running debate over immigration and public benefit usage, though the methodology has been contested by other researchers.
Pilot Killed in Small Plane Crash Near Twin Oaks Airpark in Washington County, Oregon
A small two-seater experimental plane crashed into a grassy field near Twin Oaks Airpark in Hillsboro, Oregon on Friday afternoon, killing its sole occupant. The crash occurred during takeoff and sparked a grass fire that spread to a nearby field before firefighters contained it. The NTSB and FAA are investigating the cause, and flights at the airpark were canceled for the remainder of the day.
Ohio Police Chief Arrested in Florida on 70-Count Child Sex Indictment
Bethel Police Chief Chad Essert, 44, was arrested Tuesday night in Seminole, Florida, following a Clermont County grand jury indictment on 56 counts of sexual battery and 14 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The alleged offenses occurred between 2005 and 2010, when Essert was an instructor with the Young Marines program and a teacher at Scarlet Oaks Career Campus in Sharonville, Ohio. If convicted on all counts, Essert faces a maximum of 280 years in prison, and authorities are urging any additional potential victims to come forward.