Tornadoes tear through homes and topple power lines in areas outside Chicago

More than a dozen tornadoes tore through towns across Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin overnight, shredding homes and tearing up trees and power lines.

More than a dozen tornadoes tore through towns across Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin overnight, shredding homes and tearing up trees and power lines.

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After videos posted to social media Thursday evening showed a massive funnel cloud approaching Streator, Illinois State Police reported “heavy damage” from a tornado that touched down in the city, which sits around 100 miles southwest of Chicago.

“It sounded like a train was going through. It blew my front window out,” Streator resident Kathy Spitznagle told NBC News on Thursday, adding that she took shelter in her bathroom when she received a tornado warning on her phone.