At least three tornadoes battered communities outside Chicago, leveling homes and ripping down trees and power poles, while storms grounded flights and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands in the Midwest and Northeast, the AP reports. As a large funnel cloud swept through Merrillville, a town about 33 miles southeast of Chicago, the city's police department warned residents to "TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY." Meanwhile, the nearby manufacturing and farm city of Streator set up a family reunification center for displaced residents in its city hall as officials took stock of the major damage. Streator Mayor Tara Bedei said there were no reported deaths. "We are incredibly grateful for the safety of our residents and the quick action of emergency personnel," she said in a statement.
Tornado warnings were also in place in Chicago and in parts of Indiana and Michigan, according to the National Weather Service. In Chicago, a series finale between the White Sox and the Atlanta Braves was postponed due to rain. Severe storms had swept through the Midwest Wednesday, knocking out power, damaging buildings and canceling flights. In Des Moines, Iowa, a 54-year-old man died at a homeless encampment in a park Wednesday after being hit by a tree that "broke apart and fell during strong storms," police said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of other deaths or injuries from the storms.
Strong storms delayed or halted flights at airports in some cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York on Thursday. Meanwhile, potentially dangerous heat and high humidity arrived Thursday and was expected to continue Friday for a swath of the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast, where daily high record temperatures could be broken in numerous places, the weather service said. Temperatures in the mid-90s Fahrenheit were expected, but with the humidity it could feel like 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more, the service said.
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