Strong Winds Take Down Tree Limbs, Wreck Dining Igloos, And Intensify Fires Around Chicago Area
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A big cleanup was under way Sunday night after wicked winds blew through the Chicago area.
Winds gusted up to 70 mph on Sunday, CBS 2 Meteorologist Tim McGill reported.
As CBS 2's Jeremy Ross reported, the gusting sound of strong winds echoed through Chicago and the suburbs all day and into the night. But some sounds were accompanied by the far more alarming noise of a forceful crash of debris.
That happened in South Shore on Sunday. Branches from an older tree gave way to the whipping winds, and the resulting damage was seen on a street, and a red Ford Mustang.
The force of the gusts did the damage, and gravity did the rest. Mechanic Matt Proctor described the aftermath.
"Seeing that is really freaked out," Proctor said.
In northwest suburban Wauconda, the winds dumped over some domes that were serving as outdoor seating spaces for Side Lot Brewery.
While carry-out there carried on, the owner said the weather delivered a big hit – and that extends to the business bottom line.
The impact was seen pretty much everywhere.
"I was just driving down 55 and I see trucks waving on the expressway," Proctor said.
In DeKalb County, a fire burned hotter and spread due in part to the winds pushing it along a farm building. The blaze threatened to spread to nearby structures, including a home.
First responders added that the high winds helped the fire build quickly.
In Naperville, tables tipped over and a restaurant tent toppled after a rush of air upended business plans in a parking lot.
In Buffalo Grove, ComEd workers had to untangle branches from a tree that fell onto power lines. A huge tree also blew over a power pole in Arlington Heights.
And back in South Shore, that Ford Mustang was stuck parked under that tree debris. The silver lining to the muscle car's conundrum is that the damage does not appear substantial.
But if that changes, it appears Proctor will get some work.
"I look at that Mustang, and three other of his vehicles," he said. "It's one of my clients. I'm a mechanic, and that's one of the cars I work on."
In the West Loop, most of the restaurant tents we saw remained secured. But what was definitely impacted by the weather was the number of people who chose not to eat outdoors during it.
Fortunately, there were no injuries connected to any of the aforementioned incidents.
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