'Dangerous' storms in Midwest; Tornadoes hit Illinois

USA Today: Weather officials are urging Midwestern residents to be prepared as a powerful, rapidly moving storm system pounds the region Sunday. National Weather Service officials confirmed several tornadoes touched down in Illinois, including one near East Peoria in central Illinois. No immediate injuries have been reported. Photos from the area showed devastating damage, however.

"This is a very dangerous situation," Russell Schneider, director of the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center, told the Associated Press. "Approximately 53 million in 10 states are at significant risk for thunderstorms and tornadoes."

The Weather Channel says major cities including Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Nashville, and Louisville, Ky., are at the highest risk for severe weather. The cities where the threat of tornadoes is highest include Chicago and Indianapolis, AccuWeather reports.

The NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears at Soldier Field was suspended due to the threat of severe weather. Earlier Sunday, the National Weather Service issued a "high risk" alert of severe weather for eastern Illinois, Indiana, western Ohio and far southwest lower Michigan, with conditions favorable for a tornado outbreak and widespread damaging winds. About 18 million people live within the "high risk" area.

The agency says strong winds and atmospheric instability are expected to sweep across the central Plains during the day before pushing into the Mid-Atlantic states and northeast by evening. The potential for strong and long-track tornadoes will center on the Ohio Valley and adjacent Midwestern states....

A 2004 tornado in Illinois, from NOAA