Tornado kills one, destroys homes in US state of Illinois

Crews are searching for missing residents after at least one tornado brought chaos to a tiny northern Illinois town, killing one person and sweeping homes off their foundation.

The severe weather also forced the cancellation of more than 850 flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Thursday and dozens of others at the city's Midway International Airport. The outlook improved on Friday, although about 90 flights were cancelled and dozens of delays were expected.

At least two tornadoes swept through Illinois late on Thursday.

At least one of them struck Fairdale, a community of roughly 150 people about 130 kilometres northwest of Chicago.

One woman was killed and about 11 other people were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Crews combed through each structure twice and were gearing up for a third search on Friday.

Authorities said about 15 to 20 homes were destroyed and just about every building in the town was damaged.

All homes were evacuated as a safety precaution and power was out across the area.

Some 20 additional homes were severely damaged or destroyed in Ogle County, adjacent to DeKalb, Sheriff Brian VanVickle said, adding no deaths or significant injuries were reported there.

After raking Illinois, Thursday's storm and cold front headed northeast, dumping snow in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and sweeping across the Ohio Valley overnight. The system was headed into the Appalachian region on Friday morning with the potential for severe thunderstorms.