CHICAGO (WLS) — Strong thunderstorms moving through the Chicago area left downed trees and power outages in their wake, and prompted a series of severe thunderstorm warnings for multiple counties, as well as a longer severe thunderstorm watch.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for Ford, Iroquois and Livingston counties in Illinois and Jasper and Newton counties in Indiana until 10 p.m.
Strong winds and heavy rain were a prominent part of the midday storms, leaving damage in their wake.
In the north suburbs, the storm began rolling through around 1 p.m., taking down some trees with it. Crews are working to remove downed branches and other debris in Wilmette and Winnetka. Residents there said they lost power for a moment but it was quickly restored.
In Evanston, more downed tree limbs were being cleaned up, and in Des Plaines photos showed a tree snapped at the trunk near a power line.
There were also reports of power outages. As of 3 p.m., ComEd said overall they’ve had 56,000 customers without power, but 33,000 had been restored, leaving about 23,000 still without power into the afternoon. Most of the reported power outages were in the north and near north areas of the regions.
No injuries have been reported.
After a warm and mostly quiet morning, ABC7 Chicago Meteorologist Larry Mowry said an intense line of storms swept through the area during the midday hours. By 3:15 p.m. it had moved out of the area, but a cold front will still sweep through the area in the evening.
There is still potential for storms to the south and southwest in the evening.
The National Weather Service has most of the Chicago area under an enhanced risk for severe storms, which means numerous severe storms are possible.
Monday will be a warm day, with highs around 89. Tuesday will by sunny, breezy and cooler, with highs in the low 80s.
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