Chicago Tonight | Tornadoes, Flooding and Severe Weather Hit Chicago Area | Season 2023

>>> MULTIPLE REPORTED TORNADO TOUCHDOWNS IN THE CHICAGO AREA LAST NIGHT INCLUDING O'HARE AND THIS COMES RIGHT AFTER THE GOVERNOR AND THE COOK COUNTY BOARD PRESIDENT DECLARED DISASTERS FROM PREVIOUS FLOODS.

HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE LATEST SEVERE WEATHER IS THE PROFESSOR OF METEOROLOGY AND KEVIN FITZPATRICK, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING.

WELCOME BACK , BOTH OF YOU , TO "CHICAGO TONIGHT" ON THIS VERY HIS WORK WEEK .

YOU WERE OUT CHASING TORNADOES, WHAT DID YOU SEE LAST NIGHT?

>> WELL, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF STORMS FORMING IN NORTH CENTRAL ITALY AND PUSHING OFF TO THE EAST.

I HAD TARGETED PRIMARILY NORTHERN KING COUNTY.

I THINK THE FIRST TORNADO WAS THE ONE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER TO THE NORTH AND THE ONE TOWARD ELGIN DID PRODUCE TORNADOES.

TWO AT A TIME AND ONE OF THEM WAS ANY OF ONE AND THE OTHER WAS ANY OF ZERO.

>> LOOK AT THE DEBRIS FLYING AROUND, ARE THERE ANY REPORTS OF INJURIES OR FATALITIES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT?

>> I THINK MOST PEOPLE WERE SAFE.

THERE MIGHT'VE BEEN A FEW MINOR INJURIES.

THEY WERE NOT LONG-LASTING BUT THEY ARE STILL SURVEYING THE DAMAGE.

IT IS POSSIBLE WE HAD ANY OF TWO .

>> KEVIN FITZPATRICK, YOU HAVE HAD YOUR HANDS FULL WITH WADDING FROM A WEEK AGO.

HOW ARE THE DEEP TUNNEL AND RESERVOIR SYSTEMS HOLDING UP NOW WITH THIS LATEST ROUND?

>> I THINK EVERY TIME, WE MAKE A LITTLE BIT OF PROGRESS, IT RINGS AGAIN.

CURRENTLY, THE RESERVOIR IS .

THE DEEP TUNNEL SYSTEM IS ABOUT HAVE .

WE ARE STARTING TO GET WATER AGAIN NOW.

ON THE SOUTH SIDE, WE HAVE ANOTHER RESERVOIR AND THAT IS ONLY 35% FULL SO WE ARE IN GOOD SHAPE.

WE HAVE TO GET THE COOK RESERVOIR READY FOR ANOTHER .

>> WILL THAT HANDLE STORMWATER ON THE WEST , SOUTHWEST AREAS OF THE COUNTY?

>> THAT IS RIGHT, 87th STREET IS THE UNOFFICIAL DIVIDING LINE.

NORTH OF 87 BASICALLY GOES OUT TO THE CITY OF CHICAGO AND ABOUT 37 SUBURBS OUT WITH.

>> I KEPT HEARING METEOROLOGIST SAY HOW RARE THEY THOUGHT IT WAS TO SEE THIS FREQUENCY OF TORNADO TOUCHDOWNS SO CLOSE TO THE CITY.

HOW RARE WAS IT?

>> CHICAGO HAS NEVER BEEN DETECTED A TORNADOES AND THAT IS PROBABLY THE FIRST THING I WANT TO CLARIFY.

WE GET THESE TYPE OF EVENTS IN JULY AND I THINK WHAT IS HAPPENING IS THEY ARE COMING MUCH MORE IN-DEPTH AND IDENTIFYING THE CIRCULATION OF TORNADOES AND THERE IS A HEIGHTENED AWARENESS SO WE ARE IDENTIFYING THEM IN SPOTTING THEM MORE FREQUENTLY.

THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT THIS PATTERN THAT WE ARE IN, IN JULY, WARM AIR CREATING A JET STREAM.

ANYTIME WE HAVE THESE THUNDERSTORMS .

>> LET ME INTERRUPT YOU BECAUSE WE ARE LOOKING AT A PICTURE OF OAKES TAKING SHELTER AT O'HARE.

THAT IS HOW SEVERE IT WAS.

THERE WAS A TOUCHDOWN REPORTED NEAR O'HARE.

>> ONE OF MY WARMER STUDENTS ACTUALLY TOOK A VIDEO OF THAT TORNADO ACROSS THE STREET FROM WHERE HE WORKS AT O'HARE.

YES, THE STORMS WERE NUMEROUS.

THEY WERE NOT LONG-LIVED , SUSTAINED SUPER CELLS.

THEY WERE SHORTER LIVED BUT THEY WERE A NUMBER OF PLACES OF IN KENDALL, KING COUNTY , COOK COUNTY.

EVERYONE SEEMED TO TAKE THEIR SHARE YESTERDAY.

>> WE SHOULD AT THE WARNING SYSTEMS HERE , AIR RAID SIRENS GOING OFF AND CELL PHONE WARNINGS.

IT DID SEEM TO REACH AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE AND NO DOUBT MADE A DIFFERENCE.

MAYOR JOHNSON URGING RESIDENTS TO HOLD OFF ON LONG SHOWERS, RUNNING DISORDERS DISHWASHERS.

WHY DOES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE DURING A HEAVY RAIN EVENT?

>> THE STORM SEWERS IN CHICAGO AND 52 OF THE OLDER SUBURBS ARE ALL COMBINED SEWER SYSTEMS WHICH MEANS A WASTE FOR PEOPLE'S HOMES AND BUSINESSES GOES OUT INTO THE STREET AND THE RAINFALL HAS BEEN TO THE GUTTER.

IN THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT WE CAN KEEP OUT OF THE SEWER SYSTEM DURING A HEAVY RAIN ALLOWS ADDITIONAL CAPACITY TO ACCOMMODATE THAT RAINFALL.

SO IF WE CAN GET ENOUGH PEOPLE TO SORT OF CURB THEIR WATER DURING THE STORMS, EVERY DROP WE KEEP OUT OF THERE IS PROBABLY A DROP THAT OTHERWISE MIGHT BE IN SOMEBODY'S BASEMENT.

>> EVERY LITTLE BIT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

ON THE WEST SIDE WITHOUT THE BASEMENTS HAVE BEEN FLOODED, FOLKS ARE STILL CLEANING UP.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER PATTERNS WE ARE SEEING ACROSS THE COUNTRY?

IT SEEMS LIKE IT IS EXTREME EVERYWHERE WHETHER IT IS EXTREME HEAT IN THE WEST, SOUTHWEST.

FLOODING HERE, FLOODING IN THE NORTHEAST.

WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?

>> WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS SEVERAL TIMES.

THAT UPPER-LEVEL LOW THAT EXISTS IN THE NORTHEAST IS HOLDING AIR AT THE MID-LEVELS OF THE OFFICE ARE AND WHEN YOU HAVE THAT STRONG HOLD COMBINED WITH A STRONG WARM AIR TO THE SOUTHWEST, THAT SENSE OF A STRONGER JET STREAM AND DATE JET STREAM FOR STORMS TO BECOME SEVERE.

THAT IS WHY WE ARE SEEING A TORNADO RESPONSE.

>> HOW ABOUT THAT EXTREME HEAT IN THE WEST?

PHOENIX HITTING 120 DEGREES AND THEY HAVE NOT GONE UNDER 110 IN A WEEK ?

>> THAT UPPER JET STREAM IS CENTERED OVER THE SOUTHWEST AND IT IS SHIPPING TO THE CENTRAL UNITED DATES WHICH IS MORE TYPICAL OF WHAT WE SEE IN THE DOG TAG IS DAYS OF AUGUST .

>> IS WASHINGTON OR LOCAL LEADERS NEED TO THINK ABOUT MILLIONS MORE IN ADDITIONAL STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE AFTER THE BUILDINGS THAT HAVE SPENT GIVEN THE FREQUENCY OF THESE FORMS?

>> YELL, WE REALLY DO.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS MAXED TO THE LIMIT, RIGHT NOW.

AND ANY MONEY WE COULD GET ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WOULD GO A LONG WAY IN HELPING US OUT.

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