Midwestern USA groans under storms and heat

Several tornadoes had been reported in the past two days, and employees of the agency in the metropolis of Chicago also had to briefly seek shelter from a hurricane. The Midwest includes several states in the center and northeast of the USA west of the east coast.

Local media reported uprooted trees and toppled electricity pylons. There were initially no reports of injuries. According to NBC, tornadoes are extremely rare in Chicago. The last time a tornado was confirmed in the city was in August 2020. In addition to Illinois, the neighboring state of Indiana was also affected by the storms. According to the website poweroutage.us, more than 500,000 households in the two states lost power.

US weather service warns of "extremely dangerous and potentially deadly" heat

The storms were triggered by cool air masses from Canada, which collided with a so-called heat dome - an area of high pressure that traps the heat as if under a large dome - over the center and east of the USA. The US weather service is still warning of "extremely dangerous and potentially deadly" heat in the region until Wednesday. On Tuesday, heat warnings were in place for more than 118 million people - more than a third of the population in the USA.

According to scientists, climate change is exacerbating drought, heat and extreme weather. According to the US weather service, the number of tornadoes has multiplied in recent years.