A tornado was spotted Tuesday on Chicago’s Southwest Side, the first tornado in the city limits in nearly a decade, according to the National Weather Service.
A certified weather observer who is under contract with the Federal Aviation Administration saw the funnel cloud while on duty at Midway Airport. The weather service was notified of the tornado — in this case a landspout tornado typically described as low in magnitude. The observer photographed the tornado, which was spotted just before 4 p.m. in an area bounded by Cicero Avenue on the west, Pulaski Road on the east, Ogden Avenue on the north and 33rd Street to the south, according to the weather service.
Melanie Harnacke, the weather observer, said she was surprised to see the funnel cloud from her office, which is on the fourth floor of the air traffic control tower at Midway Airport, where she has worked for 10 years.
“It was such a pretty day in Chicago, with a lake breeze moving inland,” she said by email. “I almost couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I double-checked with the binoculars, which showed definite rotation.”
The tornado did not affect operations at Midway Airport, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.
What caused the tornado? Winds began to swirl when southwest winds converged with a breeze coming off the lake, said Ben Deubelbeiss, a meteorologist with the weather service in Romeoville. A cloud developed over the area and the column of air stretched and accelerated, much like how an ice skater pulls in her arms and spins faster, he said. Such tornadoes don’t typically last a long time, he said, which was the case Tuesday. The funnel cloud lasted about 10 minutes, and the weather service didn’t receive reports of any damage.
“They’re typically not strong enough to produce any damage or (they produce) very low-end damage,” Deubelbeiss said.
The city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications also didn’t receive any reports regarding significant damage or injuries from the tornado, a spokeswoman said.
The weather service said this was the first tornado in the city since Sept. 22, 2006, when a tornado briefly touched down on the campus of Loyola University Chicago in the Rogers Park neighborhood.
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