Fallen trees in Illinois (Photo courtesy of ShawlLocal)
On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, two tornadoes tore through mid-Michigan, a state in the US great lakes region. Its strong winds blew at a speed of 90 mph and damaged several homes along the way.
The greatest effect was in early afternoon, when the strong winds damaged businesses and residential buildings in the northern part of Saginaw County. They blew off roofs and doors and destroyed trees.
Danger of Severe Weather
Experts have observed that around 40 million people might be affected by the strong winds. Most of these are residents of the Mid-West, where the tornadoes are likely to pass through.
States that experts have warned of the strong winds include Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas. Already, winds have reached the state of Illinois, where they blew off roofs of apartment buildings and displaced residents.
Chicago is particularly affected, with O’hare International Airport and other Chicago airports having to cancel flights. The Chicago airports have canceled or rescheduled more than 1,000 flights as many areas went without power yesterday, June 10.
Reports indicate that while the strong winds caused power blackouts to over 140,000 Michigan residents, they caused the same to over 264,000 Illinois residents. These power outages extended to the states of Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Indiana.
Airports Mainly Affected
In mid-April this year, Chicago was affected by floods following heavy downpour. Even O’hare International Airport flooded, catching many customers offguard.
This time O’hare is still affected, though not by floods. By last evening, two of Chicago’s biggest airports had suspended all flights, following a massive power outage. The strong winds affected Chicago’s O’hare International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport.
The power company that provides services in Illinois, the Commonwealth Edison Company, promised to do its best to restore power. It attributed the power outage to the effect of the strong winds: felled poles and cables.