An unusually massive line of storms packing hail, lightning and tree-toppling winds Wednesday could affect more than one in five Americans as it rolls from Iowa to Maryland. AP’s Seth Borenstein shows the path of the storm and who is at risk after this evening’s hit on Chicago.
Looks like most of the tornado activity was south and west of Chicago. No major damage in the northwest suburbs, except small tree limbs and branches that fell in Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect. Damaging, severe weather was avoided, and the real problem with the storms in the northwest suburbs had to do with timing rather than intensity. The storm hit in the middle of the evening rush hour.
Trains on the Metra Northwest Line were delayed or stopped with some people having trouble making it to the Blackhawks game. Inbound Train #654 was 49 minutes behind schedule.
In Schaumburg, Remington Road and National Parkway was impassable from flooding. Also westbound Golf Road at Salem Drive was down to one lane with excess water on the roadway. Schaumburg Road was down to one lane in each direction between Lanbert and Summit Drive from excess water on the roadway. Most roadways were back open by 5:00 p.m.
In Lemont, firefighters responded about 6:00 p.m. Tuesday to extinguish a house fire after an apparent lightning strike in the 16400 block of Alba.
Storms dissipated north of I-90 about 5:00 p.m. A lake breeze (easterly breeze) may have destroyed these storms north of I-90. At 9:15 p.m. Chicago Executive Airport recorded 66°F while Midway International Airport reported 71.6°F.
Com Ed reported 34,078 customers without power, including 31,033 customers in the southern suburbs.
Indiana Michigan Power reported more than 2,200 Indiana customers without power. Most of those customers were in Allen County and St. Joseph County.
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Wall cloud in Yorkville, Illinois …
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