Chicago is Tornado Immune

I always sort of heard that one, although I don't know why we would believe it would be impossible for a tornado to hit the city.

WGN Weather Blog

Tornadoes in the city of Chicago

Dear Tom,
Many Chicagoans firmly believe that a tornado cannot touch down in the city. That's
not true, is it?
Scott Robertson, Chicago

Dear Scott,

No it is not! Tornadoes do hit within the city. At least a dozen tornadoes have been
documented in Chicago, though many have been weak. Only one has been recorded
downtown--an F3 storm that swept from near 18th Street and the Chicago River to the
current site of Navy Pier on May 6, 1876.

On March 12, 1976, an F2 twister clipped the far northwest side near O'Hare and on
March 4, 1961 an F2 tornado killed one and injured 115 as it cut across the South Side.

The tail end of the F4 Oak Lawn tornado on April 21, 1967 traveled across the South
Side before dissipating over the lake near 79th Street. Chicago's earliest recorded
tornado struck the Norwood Park area on May 22, 1855.

This seems like something the Weather Channel would do a show on, one of those 'It Could Happen Tomorrow' episodes. They could predict what would happen if an F5 hit right in the middle of downtown. That way nobody inside Chicago would ever sleep well again.

Actually, I take that back, according to wikipedia they have already done that episode in Season 2.

11 F5 Tornado Chicago Plainfield Tornado January 7, 2007

I've always been easily scared of nasty tornado-weather. Although last year I handled taking shelter in the basement the best because I brought my laptop with to take my mind of it (something my dad thought was funny - I didn't bring anything I really needed, just a pillow and my laptop).

I signed up to get the feed from the WGN Weather Blog a few months ago, I have to say Tom Skilling not only really loves the weather, but he really knows what he's talking about.