Severe Weather

Illinois has already experienced a record-breaking number of tornadoes in 2026, but this year even thunderstorms are proving to be dangerous.

McLean County emergency managers are hopeful the county will qualify for federal help following the storms that hit the Bloomington-Normal area in mid-August.

State and federal emergency management officials announced upcoming assessments of damage caused by the recent severe storms and flooding.

The Bloomington city manager said a long public forum on data centers this week was just the early part of the discussion about data center policy.

In all, 655 phone calls came into Bloomington and Normal emergency call centers during recent thunderstorms and high winds. That volume overloaded dispatchers at certain points, but the system functioned as designed.

Town of Normal crews have collected over 10,700 cubic yards of brush and debris over the past week. That's 580 truckloads.

McLean, Champaign, Ford, Marshall and Tazewell counties are included in the proclamation, which makes additional state resources available to assist response and recovery efforts.

Areas south and east of the City of Bloomington were hardest hit by Thursday's intense thunderstorm, but as rain continued to fall, basements started to get wet. That includes several buildings on Illinois State's campus, where classes started today.

The City of Bloomington will launch a new emergency notification system next week to communicate with residents about severe weather, public safety issues and other urgent information.

The proclamation must be approved at the federal level before McLean County will have an opportunity to receive aid.