Another round of storms set to hit Chicago brings concerns about damage, power outages
Another round of severe weather was set to hit the Chicago area during the day Tuesday, while crews were still trying to clean up during storms on Sunday.
With so many storms this summer, some have been unable to catch a break, or even catch up. At 111th Street and Princeton Avenue in the Roseland neighborhood, a tree has been down for at least three weeks, according to a homeowner.
The downed tree, and others like it, could be a hazard when another round of storms arrives on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in the neighboring Pullman community, ComEd crews were on the scene Tuesday morning restoring electricity to the city tow yard at 103rd Street and Doty Avenue.
As of Tuesday morning, ComEd was dealing with a mere nine outages. But this was not likely to last given the new round of storms that prompted a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 2 p.m. Tuesday for the vast majority of the CBS Chicago viewing area.
All this comes six years after a massive derecho brought 100 mph winds and left a trail of damage in the Chicago area. On Aug. 10, 2020, a Monday just as Aug. 10 was in 2026, the derecho lasted for several hours as it tore across the Midwest from Nebraska across Iowa to parts of Wisconsin and Illinois and then into Indiana and Michigan.
Along with the derecho, 11 tornadoes were confirmed in Illinois from that one storm system. An EF-1 tornado touched down in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood. EF-1 tornadoes were also confirmed in Yorkville and Plainfield.
In all, the derecho spawned 26 tornadoes and killed four people across 90,000 square miles in the U.S.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated the single day of extreme weather on Aug. 10, 2020, cost more than $11 billion, making it "the most expensive thunderstorm event in modern U.S. history." Among other things, the derecho also decimated ComEd equipment.
Fear of a repeat Midwest derecho on Tuesday comes less than 48 hours after two EF-1 tornadoes hit LaSalle County, Illinois, early Monday morning.
One tornado slammed into the town of Ransom, derailing several freight train cars, while the other touched down north of Streator, flattening several homes.
As of Tuesday, there had been no reports of injuries in the tornadoes.
Also as of Tuesday, a spokesperson said 2,000 ComEd employees and contractors were prepositioned across the region, ready to make repairs as a new round of storms sweeps in.
