Thousands of those affected by this month’s damaging downpours and ongoing power outages have joined a class action lawsuit targeting Indiana’s largest power utility, claiming it neglected “foreseeable and preventable” issues prior to the storms.

Gov. JB Pritzker issued a proclamation Tuesday to bring financial help to 15 Illinois counties pounded by severe and record-breaking storms over recent weeks.

The legislation was passed in response to significant flooding on the Southwest Side of Chicago last summer. The federal government denied Illinois’ request for disaster assistance following the event, leaving many homeowners short on financial resources.

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center preliminarily confirmed Tuesday's widespread storms as a derecho.

Between tornadoes, wildfire smoke, flooding and heat, the weather in Chicago this summer has been nothing short of extreme. But winter is coming.

The Chicago area was under a tornado warning Tuesday morning, as fast-moving storms swept into the region.

The most widespread destructive winds could unfold in a complex of storms that tracks from eastern Iowa, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin on Tuesday morning to parts of Indiana and Ohio by Tuesday afternoon or early evening.

According to the survey, U.S. adults are more likely to say extreme heat has had either a “major impact” or “minor impact” on their travel or vacation plans, electricity bills, their sleep, their family’s outdoor activities and more parts of their day-to-day life than in July 2024.

A pair of storms on the front and back ends of July made for a wetter month than normal, according to a National Weather Service summary.

Chicago was hammered by a pair of storms on Monday that dumped nearly three inches of rain at Midway Airport, where wind gusts topped 70 miles per hour.

Between temperatures that feel like 100 degrees and hazardous wildfire smoke that shut down beaches and pools, spending time outside this summer hasn’t always been the most enticing (or safe) plan.

Smoke causes inflammation by triggering the body’s immune system to go into overtime to fight the irritant. Scientists have found it can harm the brain, the skin and men’s sperm, with almost no system of the body spared.

Chicago’s air quality has fallen out of the “hazardous” range but remains at unhealthy levels as winds began pushing wildfire smoke from Canada and Minnesota northeast.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has issued an air pollution action day for the northeastern part of the state.

Since taking office last year, President Donald Trump has approved about 65 requests for major disaster declarations and denied more than two dozen others from states, tribes or territories seeking federal financial assistance following hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, floods and fires.

About 13 billion gallons of combined storm and waste water flowed into two Cook County reservoirs this past weekend, part of the region’s network of stormwater management infrastructure.