Tornadoes rip through central US while extreme heat and humidity creep into the north-east

A large tornado moves through Livingston county, Illinois, on 11 June 2026. Photograph: Brandon Eliott/ReutersA large tornado moves through Livingston county, Illinois, on 11 June 2026. Photograph: Brandon Eliott/ReutersAn Illinois man whose home was destroyed by a tornado on Thursday was pulled from the rubble by a police officer and a photojournalist, who captured the terrifying storm and subsequent rescue in dramatic video footage.Scott Lasker, who describes himself as a storm chaser, recorded the tornado ripping through the town of Streator and was filming the damage it inflicted when he came across the man trapped in the debris of his house.“A lady maybe about a hundred yards away was screaming for help,” he told CBS News. “I ran over there and her husband is stuck beneath the rubble in their leveled house.“I tried to lift a heavy door off the man’s leg, and gave him a little comfort, and then the police showed up.”The man’s condition was not known on Friday morning, but Lasker said he was bloodied, and that he suspected the victim had sustained broken limbs.Chicago’s ABC7 News showed scenes of widespread destruction, and interviewed Streator residents who said the tornado’s quick arrival gave them no time to prepare.“It was the scariest things I’ve witnessed,” one resident, Clint Stevens, said. “I mean, being this close to me and actually watching the funnel cloud. It was definitely scary.”0:56Tornados tear through Illinois – videoThe tornado that struck Streator was one of a series of devastating tornadoes that tore through several Illinois and Indiana communities late on Thursday, fueled by high heat and humidity that have also reached into several north-eastern states over the last few days.At least one death was reported in Iowa, after a man was struck by a falling tree.Hundreds of thousands were without power, authorities said, with active tornado warnings stretching to Michigan. More than a thousand flights were grounded, mostly in Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York.According to AccuWeather, almost 700 severe weather incidents, with close to two dozen tornadoes, have been recorded over the last three days in the central US, with drenching thunderstorms forecast for eastern states through the end of the week.Some of the worst damage was in areas south of Chicago, where at least three tornadoes destroyed several homes and tore down trees and power poles.In Merrillville, Indiana, police told residents to take emergency cover as a large column of wind swept through and pulled the roof from a high school. Residents emerged to roads blocked by dozens of fallen trees.The nearby manufacturing and farm city of Streator set up a family-reunification center for displaced residents in its city hall as officials took stock of the major damage.Tara Bedei, the city’s mayor, said there were no reported deaths. “We are incredibly grateful for the safety of our residents and the quick action of emergency personnel,” she said in a statement.Strong storms delayed or halted flights at airports in some cities, including Chicago, Philadelphia and New York on Thursday.Parts of the north-east and mid-Atlantic also strained under high heat and humidity.The tornadoes came after severe storms swept through the midwest on Wednesday, knocking out power, damaging buildings and canceling flights.In Des Moines, Iowa, a 54-year-old man died at a homeless encampment in a park after being hit by a tree that “broke apart and fell during strong storms”, police said in a statement. There were no immediate reports of other deaths or injuries from the storms.In Chicago, a baseball series finale between the White Sox and the Atlanta Braves was postponed due to rain and rescheduled for August.AccuWeather said strong thunderstorms crossed into other eastern states on Thursday, and there were reports of wind damage from northern Virginia and West Virginia, through New York and east to Connecticut.The weather outlet said another round of disruptive thunderstorms was expected on Friday afternoon and evening from parts of North Carolina to much of New York state and a portion of New England.Temperatures in the mid-90s fahrenheit (mid-30s celsius) were expected, which could feel like 100F or higher with humidity, the National Weather Service said.Meanwhile, a new round of severe weather was forming in the midwest that was predicted to affect Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois and southern Wisconsin on Saturday, AccuWeather said.This week’s severe weather coincides with the arrival of El Niño, a phenomenon that supercharges extreme weather events and pushes global temperatures to record heights.This year’s El Niño could intensify to historic levels in the fall, US officials said on Thursday.The Associated Press contributed reporting