Severe Thunderstorms Cause Widespread Damage Across Midwest
Severe thunderstorms swept across the Midwest on Tuesday and Wednesday, causing significant damage and power outages. On Tuesday, storms targeted cities like Chicago, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati, with wind gusts reaching up to 97 mph in Sugar Grove, Illinois. Baseball-sized hail, measuring 2.75–3 inches in diameter, struck northern Indiana, while tornadoes, including an EF-2 near Frankfort, Illinois, were reported. Over one million people across Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky were left without power. A stationary front combined with a warm, humid air mass created conditions for these storms, which continued into Wednesday with heavy rainfall and flooding exacerbating the situation in the Ohio Valley. The possibility of the storm system being classified as a derecho is under review. 
