Strong winds blast through Chicago area, knocking down trees, power lines, poles and causing power outages
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Strong winds caused widespread damage across the Chicago area Thursday afternoon.
A High Wind Warning was in effect Thursday for the entire Chicago area and beyond – with southwest winds gusting up to 60 mph.
Gusts of 59 mph were observed late Thursday afternoon at both O'Hare and Midway international airports, CBS 2 Chief Meteorologist Albert Ramon reported.
Gusts topped out even stronger in some places – 61 in Valparaiso, Indiana; and 63 in Waukegan.
The winds brought down trees, power lines, and roofs across the Chicago area, and were also blamed for power outages in the area.
Light poles also came down in the amid the gusts.
As of 2 p.m., NIPSCO reported the strong winds were causing power outages across Northwest Indiana. A total of 8,900 power customers were affected as of that time.
ComEd reported in the greater Chicago area, a total of 5,409 customers were without power as of just before 5:30 p.m.
The also wind pulled a "dentist" sign down over the Family Dentistry of Highwood office, at 126 Washington Ave. in Highwood, and took down a roof canopy in the 2300 block of West Foster Avenue in the Bowmanville neighborhood.
A tar roof also blew off a midcentury apartment building at 9133 S. Western Ave. in Beverly, according to the Fire Department.
Trees also came down throughout the area. A tree fell onto a garage in the 800 block of Colfax Street in Evanston, close to the Northwestern University campus.
CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reported a tree also came down in the 800 block of West Hutchinson Street in the Buena Park neighborhood – landing on a car. Thankfully, no one was inside.
The tree, which was on private property, blew right off its roots – crushing a fence and landing on the Ford Mustang, which was parked on the street. Winds of 40 to 50 mph ripped the tree down.
The car was towed away late Thursday. The owner said he was just thankful that neither he nor anyone else was hurt.
Neighbors snapped photos immediately after the tree came down.
We are told the tree was an older dead tree that was planted in the front yard of the house years ago. It was so big as it fell that it blocked the street.
The car's roof and front windows were smashed – yet the car was still drivable, believe it or not.
We met the owner of the car at the scene.
"This is the first time I'm seeing it," said owner Evan Dodson.
He said it was a shock to see it in person – and he didn't know what happened until a friend sent him a photo of his own car on social media.
When he saw his car wrecked, Dodson said, "Why me?"
The city also blames strong winds for a handful of light poles coming down in the past 24 hours.
In the South Loop, a light pole fell down as strong winds blew through. The pole fell over along a sidewalk near the intersection of Clark Street and Roosevelt Road around 1:15 p.m. Thursday.
The fallen pole did not appear to hit anything, and no injuries have been reported.
But it was another story at Halsted Street and Armitage Avenue in Lincoln Park late Wednesday. Dr. Ronald Widen has a dental practice there, and a pole fell directly onto his car.
"I saw glass on the ground and lights flashing, so I knew something was wrong," Widen said.
A light pole also fell down in front of St. Hilary School at 5614 N. Fairfield Ave. in the Arcadia Terrace neighborhood, just south of the intersection with Lincoln Avenue. A power line also came down.
The city blames the fallen poles – and another one on Wednesday afternoon at Hollywood Avenue and Sheridan Road in Edgewater – on strong winds.
But falling light poles are a problem the CBS 2 Investigators have been exposing for years, and concerns about rusted-out bases has also been a longstanding issue.
Chicago Department of Transportation hired a subcontractor inspect poles visually about five years ago. In 2017 and 2018, the city went ahead with a survey of poles across the city and vowed to replace the dangerous ones. They found a concerning amount of rust in the Streeterville area – where yet another pole came down on Friday. So what's been done to fix it?
CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey followed up on the progress from the city's promise last month, three days after a pole crashed down onto two unsuspecting drivers at Grand Avenue and Columbus Drive.
The High Wind Warning was in effect until 7 p.m. Winds have since died down.
