Severe Thunderstorms Roll Through Chicago Area, Down Trees In Some Suburbs
CHICAGO (CBS) - A band of thunderstorms moved quickly through the Chicago area Saturday afternoon, casuing damage and knocking out power in some suburbs.
Hardest hit appeared to be areas south of Chicago, including Oak Lawn, where trees were uprooted and power lines were knocked down.
At 54th Avenue between Edison and 95th, downed trees and power lines littered street after street, CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports.
The village had to block off some areas to keep people and traffic away from the live power lines that were on the grounds. That didn't stop dozens of people from coming outside to look at the damage.
Many said they couldn't believe how fast and furious the storm was.
System-wide, ComEd said 11,000 customers were without power as of Saturday evening. Most outages were in the company's south region.
Weather service radar indicated severe storms capable of producing ping pong ball-sized hail and 80 mile per hour wind gusts in the warning area.
Officials in Jasper County, Ind. also reported extensive damage and warned residents about downed power lines.
Cooler temperatures are expected Sunday, when the high will only reach 77 degrees, the weather service said.
Contributing: Sun-Times Media Wire.
