As many as 10 simultaneous tornadoes reported at once in Chicago metro area, NWS says
CHICAGO (CBS) — Tornadoes, dangerous straight-line winds, and other hazards rocked the Chicago area for a second night in a row Monday, and the National Weather Service reported there may have been as many as 10 tornadoes on the ground during the evening.
Before 10 p.m., a large tornado was reported on the ground at O'Hare International Airport at O'Hare International Airport and moving eastward, according to the National Weather Service. Another tornado was also spotted in Crestwood.
A possible tornado was also spotted on the ground near Midway International Airport. Another believed tornado was also confirmed in Will County, and another was believed to be headed near O'Hare International Airport.
Earlier, twin tornadoes were confirmed—one in Sugar Grove, the other in Oswego. The Sugar Grove tornado was headed for Aurora, Warrenville, and Naperville, the Oswego tornado for Plainfield and Romeoville.
In the Gary area, winds with a velocity of 73 to 82 mph were detected. Winds topped out at a hurricane-force 76 mph on the south side of Valparaiso, Indiana.
During the 9 p.m. hour, the National Weather Service staff themselves went into shelter in their offices in Romeoville. They said they had a flurry of tornado warnings and too many circulations to keep track of.
A tornado warning was issued until 10 p.m. for the entirety of the city of Chicago and Cook County, and was allowed to expire thereafter. This followed tornado warnings throughout other Illinois counties.
The storm moved eastward into Northwest Indiana afterward, prompting tornado warnings in counties there for over an hour.
Each and every county in the CBS Chicago viewing area was under a tornado warning at some point Monday night. This is an exceedingly rare phenomenon.
Severe thunderstorm warnings were also issued throughout the area over the course of the evening.
Meanwile, a flash flood warning is in effect for Cook, DuPage, and northern Will counties until 12:30 a.m. Doppler radar and automated rain gauges earlier estimated the storms would soon bring rain falling at a rate of 1 inch per hour.
A tornado watch was issued for the entire CBS Chicago viewing area several hours before the storms, but it was had been called off by 11 p.m.
Tens of thousands of ComEd customers across northern Illinois also lost power as a result of the storms. As of 11:10 p.m., more than 303,000 customers were without power.
ComEd spokeswoman Lauren Huffman said areas south and west of the city were hit particularly hard—including Joliet. She said crews were working to make repairs as of just before 11 p.m., and there was a lot of work ahead in assessing the damage and restoring power.
ComEd asks that customers report outages or downed power lines by calling 1-800-EDISON-1 (1-800-334-7661), or going online.
A ground stop was issued at Midway and O'Hare international airports as the storms pounded the area.
Tree damage was widespread throughout the Chicago aera and beyond. Trees with a trunk diameter of 2 to 3 feet were snapped or uprooted by the storm.
The Chicago Fire Department reported numerous trees and power lines down around the city, several areas without power, and some transformers burning and power lines broken. The CFD warned that voltage from live power lines may be charging the wet ground—causing a shock risk.
The Fire Department reported that at 70th Street and Campbell Avenue in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, trees were down on most of the block.
No injuries were reported in the city associated with the storm.
Kane County, where an early tornado was confirmed in Sugar Grove, reported damage to trees and wires in the Sugar Grove and Campton Hills areas. In St. Charles Township, an entire roadway was closed until further notice due to multiple trees down and a transformer fire, and at 8-N-600 Wild Rose Dr. in St. Charles Township, a structure fire was blamed on the weather.
In Will County late Monday night, portions of Interstate 55 were shut down near Lorenzo Road due to debris and large high-voltage power lines that may be down in the road.
In the DeKalb County community of Monroe Center, trees were split in two, and power lines also came down—sparking a fire in front of a house.
Flooded roadways were also widespread across the area.
Because of the storms, a classic rock concert at Wrigley Field started earlier than planned due to the storms. The concert featuring the Steve Miller Band, Journey, and Def Leppard had been set to being at 5:30 p.m., but will now begin an hour earlier at 4:30 p.m. The Steve Miller Band took the stage at 4:30 p.m., Journey at 5:30 p.m., and Def Leppard at 7:15 p.m.
Air raid sirens started sounding right as a throng of people were leaving the concert. A city air raid siren is located on a pole on Waveland Avenue right outside Wrigley Field. Many people crowded into nearby bars for safety.
While Wrigley Field was reported to be in the path of a tornado Monday night, there was no sight of a tornado or funnel cloud near the stadium.
Three nights of storms
Monday night made the third night of storms for Chicago area, and by far the worst. But the severe weather that hit hard Sunday night was no joke either.
The NWS confirmed three tornadoes also touched down in the Chicago area Sunday night—two on the city's South Side and one in Elburn. They all had an EF rating of 0.
Quieting down at last
A cool front will blow through the area on Tuesday, quieting the weather pattern for the rest of the week and into the weekend.
At last, we will enjoy cooler temperatures and sunny skies. The threat of tornadoes is similar to the one that led to an outbreak of twisters in February.
