The year 2026 is already setting new records for severe weather — with 128 warnings for tornadoes and thunderstorms issued in the Chicago region alone by April, a figure that exceeds the totals for entire previous years. The Storm Prediction Center has raised risk levels on 15 different occasions, and experts caution that the peak of the season — May and June — is still to come. Meteorologists predict that conditions could become significantly more severe in the weeks ahead.
