On the evening of June 11, a tornado touched down in Bartlett and continued southeast bound towards Naperville, Lisle and Northern Indiana. A total of 23 tornadoes were confirmed on June 11 for the Chicago area from the National Weather Service (NWS), just behind the record of 32 tornadoes on July 15, 2024. This photo from the National Weather Service was taken near Streator, IL. Limited small farm damage was noticed or reported for DuPage County, but neighboring Kane County noticed spotty damage across the area. Commercial growers in western Kane County reported damage to barns, grain bins and structures, while smaller operations noted damaged fruit trees and plastic damage on high tunnels. Managing specialty crops that have been affected by storms can be challenging, especially when lots of foliage loss or snapped stems occur in vegetable crops. Ajay Nair from Iowa State University provides guidance and tips for those who may be affected by extreme weather damage to vegetable crops.
A side note, this post is a bit personal for me, as the Bartlett tornado was just one mile from my home! The last time there was a tornado in Bartlett was in 1927. The number of tornadoes reported in Illinois surpass the state record with over 150 tornadoes (as of June 25) reported for 2026, making Illinois the number one tornado state so far this year.