Illinois Storms A Reminder Tornadoes Can Still Happen With Snow On The Ground In February

Yes, Tornadoes Can Still Happen In The Middle Of Winter

While a powerful storm system moved across parts of the Midwest and Southeast on Thursday into early Friday, a number of possible tornadoes touched down in Illinois.

Preliminary reports vary on the exact number of tornadoes that struck Illinois, but reports of a funnel cloud in Concord, Ill., about 50 miles west of Springfield, were backed by strong visual evidence. And, yes, some snow can also be clearly seen on the ground in the below photo.

A video by storm chaser Dan Robinson also captured footage of the reported tornado near Concord, Ill.

According to ABC Chicago, a twister was also reported in Mechanicsburg, about 18 miles east of Springfield, Thursday afternoon. Twisters were also spotted in Christian and Effingham counties.

No injuries have been reported, though thousands lost power due to the rare February storm system.

The Illinois storms mark the first confirmed tornado in the U.S. in more than a month, NBC News reports, citing the National Weather Service.

The NWS confirmed a tornado touched down in Delaware County, Ohio, Friday morning and possible tornadoes were also reported in Georgia Thursday night and Friday, according to Weather.com. Tornado alerts were reportedly issued in 12 different states in total.

Wintertime tornadoes are less common than storms in the spring or summer, but can often be more dangerous because they typically move faster, according to LiveScience.

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