Weather officials confirmed that at least one tornado touched down near Huntley and damaged a barn as severe thunderstorms swept through the region Wednesday.
The tornado briefly touched down at around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, National Weather Service (NWS) Chicago said.
Multiple videos on social media showed residents looking in awe at the tornado as it tossed debris around while moving in an east-southeast direction.
A woman on social media described the moment the tornado touched down near her father while he was driving in his work vehicle at around 5:35 p.m.
“He said it developed so fast that, from where he was, the sky was clear seconds before and the sirens hadn’t even gone off yet,” she said.
“In the video you can hear him say, ‘I should probably get out of here,’ before he starts backing up because it was heading straight toward him. He said the wind was incredibly strong and he could feel it moving up and down. You can also see debris flying through the air in one of the videos aswell!” she added.
At least one barn sustained damage to its roof near Harmony Road and Route 20, which is west of Huntley.
Tree damage was also reported. It’s currently unclear what the exact extent of other damage is.
An Enhanced Fujita (EF) rating has not yet been determined for the tornado as NWS survey crews continue to evaluate damage in the area as of Thursday afternoon.
The tornado formed from scattered severe thunderstorms that swept through southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois Wednesday afternoon into the evening.
In addition to the tornado, the storms produced considerable wind damage, hail and flooding in and near Streamwood, Bartlett and Hanover Park. Power outages were reported in the area, according to the ComEd outage map.
Numerous severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in the region, including for McHenry County and far southwestern Lake County, followed by a tornado warning at around 6:05 p.m. for portions of northeastern Kane County and northwestern Cook County.
Illinois has seen a record-shattering number of tornadoes for 2026. A majority of them occurred in the last few months.
Despite being about halfway through the year, approximately 200 tornadoes have been reported in Illinois – significantly more than any other state so far – and it’s not even close.
The two runner-ups, Mississippi and Missouri, have only seen around 75 reported tornadoes this year.
Illinois may be on track to become the state with the most tornadoes in a single year in recorded history. Texas currently holds that title with 244 tornadoes in 2004.
Residents should continue to be weather-aware, review their storm-shelter plans and ensure they have multiple ways of receiving severe weather alerts.