Strong storms pass through Chicago area during Tuesday evening rush

CHICAGO (CBS) — Storms remained beneath the severe weather threshold as they passed through the Chicago area Tuesday evening, but they brought thunder and lightning, heavy rain, and hail.

During the 4 p.m. hour, the area saw 140 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes within 15 minutes.

The south suburbs and Northwest Indiana were hit particularly hard by the afternoon storms. Hail the size of peas, if not nickels, was spotted in south suburban South Holland.

To the west, hail the size of nickels was seen moving across Aurora and Naperville during the 4 p.m. hour. In north suburban Lake County, heavy downpours and hail the size of dimes to nickels were spotted along I-94 around Lake Forest.

Earlier in the afternoon, the roadway was reported to be flooded on Fullerton Avenue in west suburban Addison.

By 6 p.m., storm activity had died down. It was expected to diminish even more after sundown.

Clearing and a cooler trend are expected for Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to hover in the 60s for highs.