24 Tornadoes Confirmed in Chicago-Land, Most in Single Day
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Chicago, Illinois confirmed two additional tornadoes from Monday's derecho event. The office made the announcement Friday, also stating that the 24 tornadoes is the most confirmed tornadoes in a single day for their forecast area of northern Illinois. The previous record was 22 tornadoes on June 30, 2014 and more recently on March 31, 2023.
Nationwide, the tornado count for 2024 has already surpassed the yearly average. It's only late-July and the mainland U.S. has already had about 1,400 tornadoes. The average number of tornadoes in any given (entire) year is around 1,350.
By far, the busiest month was May. During that month, 571 tornadoes hit the country. It came after a busy April, too. Putting April and May together, there were about 950 tornadoes! April, May, and June is statistically the busiest time for tornadoes in the United States.
From now through the end of the year, we average an additional 250-300 tornadoes. If you're ever caught in a tornado warning, a basement or underground room is the safest place to ride out the storm. If you can't access a basement, the lowest and most-interior section of a well-built, sturdy structure is safest.
As far as it goes for Sunday July 21, 2024 we will have some scattered thunderstorms across the Rocky Mountains, Southern Plains, and the Southeast U.S. Some of these may be severe, especially in states such as New Mexico, Texas, and the Carolinas.
