Anthony Hernandez

Rain reflects off wet asphalt near a Loop Auto Parks sign as a sudden downpour moves through the area on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026.

Severe storms with damaging winds and heavy rain swept through the Chicago area Tuesday morning, Aug. 11, prompting tornado warnings and sirens in the South Loop as the National Weather Service warned of potentially dangerous conditions.

The line of thunderstorms moved across the region in the early afternoon. Wind gusts exceeded 80 mph in some areas, and tornadoes were reported in the Chicago suburbs. The storms also caused widespread power outages and disrupted flights at Chicago’s two major airports.

At 11:05 a.m., Columbia received a tornado warning from Campus Security. The alert came roughly 30 minutes after tornado sirens went off and weather alerts were sent to mobile phones from the National Weather Service. 

Northeastern Illinois University on Chicago’s north side sent emergency alerts at 10:44 a.m.

By the time Columbia’s alert went out, some students, faculty and staff across campus had already taken shelter in the basement or ground floor of their respective buildings.

WCRX Music Director Peter Andrews went from the first floor WCRX studio in the 33 E. Ida B. Wells building to the basement when he got a warning on his phone at 10:30 a.m., 35 minutes before the Columbia-issued response. 

Columbia’s Campus Security tornado warning, which was sent via campus email, recommended not taking cover in an interior with any windows and advised that “campus basements are unsuitable for occupancy.” 

“Columbia did outline what to do; however, they did it very late,” Andrews said. “I did feel safe knowing that we were able to go in a space that would protect us, but it was annoying and unsurprising that Columbia was very delayed in their response.”

The Chronicle emailed Watch Commander Shirley Brown seeking comment but did not get a reply. Manager of Operations Charrisse Musgrove did not respond to an email and a voicemail seeking information about protocol for emergency alerts by publication time.

Senior film and television student Maria Fernanda Freaner, who lives one block away from the Student Center, said that they were home with the blinds closed when they received a weather alert on their phone. They only saw the Columbia warning after the storm had passed.

“I just genuinely did not even acknowledge the Columbia alert, if I’m being honest,” Freaner said. 

Alum Ava Harper, a film and television student who graduated in May, also lives in an apartment building close to campus where she said a similar storm took place a few years prior. Her apartment building did not have a safety protocol in place. 

“I’ve heard a lot of people say that tornadoes wouldn’t be able to touch down or do damage downtown because of the buildings, and I think that misconception has affected how residential buildings handle storms,” Harper said. 

Harper said that by the time she received the Columbia warning, the sirens had stopped, and the initial warning she received was ten minutes away from being lifted. 

Columbia’s Campus Security lifted the precaution at 12:53 p.m. 

This story has been updated. 

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Anthony Hernandez

Heavy equipment sits on a cleared field as cleanup after Lollapalooza continues in Grant Park on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026.

The music has stopped, but Grant Park won’t be back to normal anytime soon. While crews dismantled Lollapalooza’s stages within days of the festival’s end, restoring churned grass, muddy pathways and landscaping damaged by roughly 460,000 concertgoers will take much longer, with a formal damage assessment scheduled this week.

About 460,000 people attended the four-day festival, leaving behind muddy fields and wear on Chicago’s signature downtown park near Columbia’s campus after a weekend of heavy rain and intense heat.

A new round of storms came through on Tuesday, Aug. 11, with tornado sirens sounding in downtown Chicago and a lakeshore flood warning in effect until 5 p.m.

Under its agreement with the Chicago Park District, C3 Presents, the Austin, Texas-based promoter of Lollapalooza, is responsible for coordinating cleanup and restoring the festival grounds, said Irene Tostado, the Park District’s deputy director of communications.

Once the last of festival equipment, fencing and other temporary infrastructure are removed this week, representatives from the Park District, C3 Presents and a third-party contractor will inspect the site to assess damage to lawns, landscaping and other infrastructure, Tostado said in an email to the Chronicle.

Based on that assessment, C3 Presents will pay to restore the grounds to their pre-festival condition. This year’s walkthrough is expected to begin this week.

“C3 will be financially responsible for all reasonable costs related to repairing and restoring the festival area,” Tostado said.

The Park District does not know yet how long it will take for Grant Park to reopen. 

“I don’t have any details at the moment as the assessment has not been completed,” Tostado said.

In the past years, restoration has varied widely. In 2011, extensive damage took about two months to fully repair, while in 2017, surrounding streets reopened within days. This year, no reopening date has been set yet.

The extent of the restoration will depend in part on the toll four days of unpredictable weather took on the park.

Opening day brought intense heat, with temperatures climbing into the 90s, prompting several medical emergencies as attendees packed into crowds. 

By Friday and Saturday, showers began moving through Grant Park, so much so that Saturday was delayed by four hours, starting at 3 p.m. instead of the regularly scheduled time of 11 a.m.

By Sunday, the storms had moved out, but they left behind muddy fields, standing water and churned grass that festivalgoers accepted as part of the Lollapalooza experience, as audience members coordinated mud fights. 

Zaeden Jones, a Columbia College senior film and television major, experienced the aftermath firsthand. By the last day of the festival, Jones said the rain had transformed parts of Grant Park into thick mud, with some areas nearly a foot deep. 

“My boots are kind of trashed,” Jones said. “I went with a friend who wore white shoes, and those shoes are solid brown now.” 

The muddy conditions only intensified the energy for some fans. During Turnstile’s performance, fans packed into the mosh pit despite the slick ground. 

“Everybody was slipping for sure,” Jones said. “But everyone was pretty much having a blast.”

While the Park District has not yet estimated this year’s restoration costs, previous years show how weather can affect both the price tag and recovery time. After heavy rain in 2011, repairs cost about $1 million and took roughly two months to complete. In years with less damage, restoration has generally cost a few hundred thousand dollars and taken several weeks, according to news reports.

Unlike last year, Grant Park did not have to recover from both NASCAR and Lollapalooza. The NASCAR Chicago Street Race, which occupied streets and portions of the park for the past three summers, was paused for 2026 after its initial three-year run. City officials and NASCAR say they hope to bring the event back in 2027, but its absence this summer meant the park avoided weeks of additional setup, racing and teardown before the music festival. 

In the past, the grass was restored by the time Columbia hosted its New Student Convocation at the park. In recent years, the college hosted convocation on campus, occupying a parking lot and space within the Student Center instead.

Repairs typically involve a combination of sodding, seeding, aeration, soil work and rototilling, depending on the extent of the damage. Officials have said in the past that new sod must be allowed time to take root before damaged sections can reopen.

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Previously, Parent PLUS borrowers could generally borrow up to the full cost of attendance, minus other financial aid. New borrowers are now limited to $20,000 per year and $65,000 over a student’s lifetime. Undergraduate federal Direct Loan limits remain unchanged, but colleges nationwide are adjusting financial aid strategies as families weigh how the new restrictions could affect college affordability. 

“I feel like it doesn’t make sense that we lowered it in the first place,” said Mackenzie Bizub, an incoming first-year photography major.  “College gets more expensive every year. The loans should be increasing, if anything.”

At Columbia College Chicago, the policy’s impact has yet to fully emerge. Many students at the college’s New Student Orientation said the new borrowing limits were not expected to affect their plans, often because scholarships, grants or other financial aid covered much of their costs. 

Others said they were unaware the rules had changed.

“I won’t be paying much,” said incoming first-year acting for stage and screen student Michal Laczak. “My tuition is covered by scholarships, so I won’t be paying anything.”

Transfer student Jennifer Aguilera, who is majoring in performance and songwriting, said her financial aid covers her education, but she’s worried about classmates who may not be in the same position. 

“Personally, my student loan was covered,” Aguilera said. “But I know that it’s going to be difficult for a lot of people”

She pointed to the reality many students already face balancing work, housing and tuition. 

“Being a student, you have to work and pay your rent and all that stuff,” she said. “Obviously, that’s a huge thing to think about.” 

The new borrowing caps add another financial consideration for colleges like Columbia as they work to recruit and retain students. Columbia reported 3,958 enrolled students in Spring 2026, marking the first time in more than two decades that enrollment fell below 4,000 students. 

Families who cannot cover remaining costs through scholarships, payment plans or other resources may need to consider private loans or other options to finance a degree.

Columbia administrators say they are already helping students navigate the changes.

“At Columbia College Chicago, our priority remains ensuring that finances do not become an unnecessary barrier to student success,” said Emmanuel Lalande, senior vice president of enrollment strategy and student success. 

Lalande said Student Financial Services will work individually with students to maximize grants and scholarships, establish payment plans and connect families with additional institutional and outside financial resources. The college is also working with its development office to expand scholarship funding.

Lalande emphasized that the new policy does not affect every student equally because undergraduate federal Direct Loan limits remain unchanged, while the largest changes apply to new Parent PLUS borrowers.  

As students and families prepare for the academic year under the new borrowing rules, Lalande said early conversations with financial aid offices will be essential to understanding what options remain available. 

“My advice to students and families is simple: don’t wait,” Lalande said. “If you are concerned about how these changes affect your ability to enroll or return this fall, contact your financial aid office as early as possible. The earlier we have those conversations, the more options we have to build a workable financial plan.”

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