Posted in Illinois March 01, 2017 by

2 Dead, More Than A Dozen Injured As Tornadoes Rake Across Illinois And The Midwest

As if the United States wasn’t already seeing enough unusual weather during this past month, February decided to go out with a bang in the Midwest on Tuesday the 28th. Since yesterday, this region of the country has seen over 20 tornadoes and remains to be at risk for more severe weather throughout today. With death and injury tolls that rising, residents are urged to be cautious and safe as certain states continue to brace for these intense storms.

We’re aware that these uncertain times are limiting many aspects of life as we all practice social and physical distancing. While we’re continuing to feature destinations that make our state wonderful, we don’t expect or encourage you to go check them out immediately. We believe that supporting local attractions is important now more than ever and we hope our articles inspire your future adventures! And on that note, please nominate your favorite local business that could use some love right now: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nominate/
Beginning in the late afternoon on Tuesday, Illinois began to see destructive weather throughout the state with hard-hitting thunderstorms and more than a handful of tornadoes.
Malkeet Singh/YouTube
As of the most recent reports, the country has seen a total of 22 tornadoes, more than half of which took place in the state of Illinois.
The worst weather primarily hit the city of Ottawa. Ameren Utility reported over 7,000 residents in the area were without power.
Darth George/YouTube
With over 10,000 residents being left without power in Illinois during the peak of yesterday's storms, Governor Bruce Rauner announced that Springfield's State of Emergency Operations Center had been activated.
Before yesterday, Northern Illinois had reportedly only ever seen one other tornado during the month of February since 1950. So far at least two residents have died, with many others injured.
Darth George/YouTube
Ottawa Authorities have reported that the local hospital has seen at least 14 people come in with injuries resulting from the storm, mostly dealing with patients that have been in car accidents or people who were injured from falling tree limbs.

As for the deaths, a resident of Perryville was killed in his vehicle on I-55 after a tornado managed to pick up at least 15 cars from a nearby junkyard and drop them onto the interstate. The other reported death? A man who had been killed after he was struck by a fallen tree, a common tragedy we've been seeing over the past 24 hours.
But Illinois isn't the only state being affected by harsh weather. Residents of Arkansas have taken to social media to share that they're seeing hail the size of baseballs outside.
Javier Candeira/Flickr
Aside from certain areas still being on tornado watch, states in the Ohio Valley are dealing with flash flood concerns after mass amounts of hail.

Have you been affected by the chaotic weather that’s taken over the MidWest in the past 24 hours? As always, be safe and feel free to share your pictures and stories with us in the comments section.