Author: Nina Clarke

Nina Clarke is a staff writer at Chicago Music Guide covering the full spectrum of American life from breaking weather emergencies and community safety reports to local crime developments and cultural events. With a background in general assignment reporting, Nina brings a ground-level perspective to stories that affect real people in real communities across the U.S. Her work reflects a belief that a music publication can't exist in a bubble the storms, the streets, and the stories around the venues matter just as much as what happens on stage.

WEATHER

Kansas City St Louis Peoria Chicago And Milwaukee Under Ongoing Tornado Outbreak With 19 Tornado Reports And Nearly 200 Hail Incidents As Severe Storms Continue Friday Night
ByNina Clarke April 18, 2026

UNITED STATES — A dangerous severe weather outbreak is actively unfolding Friday evening across the central United States into the Midwest, with a line of intense thunderstorms producing multiple tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds from Kansas City and St. Louis through Peoria and into Chicago and Milwaukee. Tornado Reports Climb As Storm Line Intensifies…

Read More Kansas City St Louis Peoria Chicago And Milwaukee Under Ongoing Tornado Outbreak With 19 Tornado Reports And Nearly 200 Hail Incidents As Severe Storms Continue Friday Night
WEATHER

Oklahoma City Wichita Kansas City And Columbia Face Level 4 Severe Storm Risk Friday With Tornadoes Large Hail And Damaging Winds Expected
ByNina Clarke April 17, 2026

UNITED STATES — A significant Level 4 out of 5 severe weather risk has been issued for Friday, stretching from northwest Oklahoma through central and eastern Kansas into west-central Missouri, placing cities like Oklahoma City, Wichita, Kansas City, and Columbia in the path of potentially dangerous thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes, large hail, and damaging…

Read More Oklahoma City Wichita Kansas City And Columbia Face Level 4 Severe Storm Risk Friday With Tornadoes Large Hail And Damaging Winds Expected
WEATHER

Kansas City To Wichita Tulsa And Oklahoma City Face Level 4 Severe Storm Risk Tonight With 60 To 80 MPH Winds And Tornado Threat Developing
ByNina Clarke April 17, 2026

UNITED STATES — A dangerous Level 4 out of 5 severe weather risk has been issued for areas including Kansas City, Wichita, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City, with storms expected to intensify tonight into a powerful squall line capable of producing widespread 60 to 80+ mph wind gusts, along with embedded tornado potential. Kansas City At…

Read More Kansas City To Wichita Tulsa And Oklahoma City Face Level 4 Severe Storm Risk Tonight With 60 To 80 MPH Winds And Tornado Threat Developing
WEATHER

Elevated Tornado Threat Targets Minneapolis, Rochester, Eau Claire and Madison Today as Strong Storms Develop by Mid-Afternoon Across Minnesota and Wisconsin With Very Large Hail and Damaging Winds
ByNina Clarke April 14, 2026

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — An elevated and serious tornado threat is in place today across Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the outlook map now in effect leaves no room for complacency. Storms are expected to develop by mid-afternoon across southern Michigan and Wisconsin, and current analysis confirms these storms will be capable of producing all severe hazards…

Read More Elevated Tornado Threat Targets Minneapolis, Rochester, Eau Claire and Madison Today as Strong Storms Develop by Mid-Afternoon Across Minnesota and Wisconsin With Very Large Hail and Damaging Winds
WEATHER

Frost Is Not Done Yet as the Final Spring Frost Outlook Warns Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland and New York City Face Below 36 Degree Temperatures Through Mid-May While Dallas and Atlanta Are Finally in the Clear
ByNina Clarke April 14, 2026

CHICAGO, IL — Spring may be in full swing across much of the country, but the final frost of the season has not arrived yet for millions of Americans across the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Northeast — and the latest frost outlook is a critical reminder for gardeners, farmers, and anyone with outdoor plants that…

Read More Frost Is Not Done Yet as the Final Spring Frost Outlook Warns Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland and New York City Face Below 36 Degree Temperatures Through Mid-May While Dallas and Atlanta Are Finally in the Clear
WEATHER

The Week of April 12 to 19 Brings Heavy Rain From Texas and the Upper Midwest to Michigan and the Pacific Northwest While the Southeast Stays Bone Dry and Flash Flood Concerns Rise Across Illinois and Indiana
ByNina Clarke April 14, 2026

CHICAGO, IL — The seven-day precipitation forecast for April 12 through 19, 2026 is painting a divided picture of the United States — one half soaking wet, the other almost entirely dry — and the contrast between the two could not be more dramatic. A broad and active storm pattern is delivering significant rainfall totals…

Read More The Week of April 12 to 19 Brings Heavy Rain From Texas and the Upper Midwest to Michigan and the Pacific Northwest While the Southeast Stays Bone Dry and Flash Flood Concerns Rise Across Illinois and Indiana
WEATHER

Strong to Severe Storms Push Across Northern Illinois This Afternoon With Large Hail Targeting Joliet, Kankakee and the Chicago Southside as Two Tracked Storm Cells Race Toward Gary and South Bend by 5 PM
ByNina Clarke April 14, 2026

CHICAGO, IL — Strong to severe thunderstorms are already on the move across northern Illinois this Monday afternoon, and storm tracking data captured at 2:40 PM ET on April 13, 2026 shows two distinct storm cells actively tracked and racing eastward at 35 mph toward the Chicago metro, Joliet, Kankakee, Gary, Indiana, and ultimately South…

Read More Strong to Severe Storms Push Across Northern Illinois This Afternoon With Large Hail Targeting Joliet, Kankakee and the Chicago Southside as Two Tracked Storm Cells Race Toward Gary and South Bend by 5 PM
WEATHER

Iowa Faces a Dangerous Tuesday as Strong EF-2 Tornadoes, Very Large Hail and Damaging Winds Target Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Waterloo and Iowa City From 3 PM Through Tuesday Night
ByNina Clarke April 14, 2026

DES MOINES, IA — Tuesday, April 14, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most dangerous severe weather days Iowa has seen this spring season. Severe thunderstorms are expected to develop across the state Tuesday afternoon after 3 PM, and current analysis warns that some of these storms could become genuinely dangerous —…

Read More Iowa Faces a Dangerous Tuesday as Strong EF-2 Tornadoes, Very Large Hail and Damaging Winds Target Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Waterloo and Iowa City From 3 PM Through Tuesday Night
WEATHER

Nearly 170 Million Birds Took Flight Across the United States in a Single Night as the Spring Migration Surge Smashes Expectations From Texas and the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and New England
ByNina Clarke April 14, 2026

CHICAGO, IL — One of the most extraordinary single-night bird migration events of the spring season just unfolded across the skies of the United States — and the numbers are staggering. On the night of April 12, 2026, approximately 169.9 million birds took flight simultaneously across the country in their northward spring migration, far exceeding…

Read More Nearly 170 Million Birds Took Flight Across the United States in a Single Night as the Spring Migration Surge Smashes Expectations From Texas and the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and New England
WEATHER

SPC Issues Mesoscale Discussion for Central Oklahoma and the Red River Valley of Texas as Baseball-Sized Hail and Tornadoes Become Possible This Afternoon With a Severe Watch at 60 Percent Probability
ByNina Clarke April 14, 2026

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — The Storm Prediction Center has issued Mesoscale Discussion 399, valid until 4:45 PM CDT on April 13, 2026, targeting central Oklahoma and the Red River Valley of Texas — and the language inside that discussion is direct enough to demand immediate attention from anyone living across this corridor this afternoon. A…

Read More SPC Issues Mesoscale Discussion for Central Oklahoma and the Red River Valley of Texas as Baseball-Sized Hail and Tornadoes Become Possible This Afternoon With a Severe Watch at 60 Percent Probability