Chicago Breaks All-Time Severe Weather Record — 128 Warnings Issued Before May - video Dailymotion

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The National Weather Service in Chicago has established a new all-time high by issuing 128 severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings by April 19 — the most ever recorded by that date. So far, the NWS Chicago area has confirmed 20 tornadoes in 2026, matching the usual count for an entire year. Researchers indicate that warming waters in the Great Lakes are contributing to frequent outbreaks, thereby extending the severe weather threat area further into the Midwest.

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00:00Chicago just broke a record, and it is not one anyone wanted to set.

00:04The National Weather Service office in Chicago confirmed that by April 19,

00:092026. It had already issued 128 severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings this year.

00:16That is the highest number ever recorded through that date in history. And it is only May. The NWS

00:23Chicago forecast area has already confirmed at least 20 tornadoes in 2026. A count that

00:29typically covers an entire calendar year. The region saw a remarkable 11 individual thunderstorm

00:35events with severe weather reports just from January through April. Compared to a normal

00:41average of around 4, the Lower Great Lakes region is now becoming one of the most consistently active

00:47severe weather zones in the country. Scientists point to warming Great Lake waters disrupting

00:53storm patterns. And the traditional idea of a narrow tornado alley running through Kansas and

00:58Oklahoma no longer tells the full story. Severe weather is now a recurring threat in Illinois,

01:04Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and Minnesota. For Midwest homeowners who believed they lived

01:11outside the dangerous zone, the record books just told them otherwise.

Chicago Breaks All-Time Severe Weather Record — 128 Warnings Issued Before May

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