Chicago weather live: Tornado, thunderstorm, flash flood warnings in area as 2nd round of severe weather arrives
Another round of storms is sweeping through Chicago, prompting more watches and warnings. An earlier round of severe left extensive damage and flooding in its wake.
A Tornado Warning is in effect for Kankakee County until 5 p.m.
Tornado warnings were issued throughout the Chicago area earlier Monday, with the areas of highest risk in the south and southwest suburbs and then Northwest Indiana, as a massive storm system moving south-southeast from Wisconsin.
Areas of rotation were spotted on the radar over Downers Grove, Orland Park, near Homer Glen, and in other parts of the Chicago area between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. Monday.
A rain-wrapped tornado was reported near Orland Park, Homer Glen and Tinley Park CBS News Chicago First Alert meteorologists said, with a tornadic debris signature visible on radar.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning is in effect for Kankakee and Will counties until 4:45 p.m., and Cook and DuPage counties in Illinois and Lake and Porter counties in Indiana until 5:30 p.m.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for Cook, DuPage, Kankakee, Lake and Will counties in Illinois and Newton, Lake and Porter counties in Indiana until 7 p.m.
A Flash Flood Warning is in effect for Cook County until 5 p.m. and a Flood Advisory has been issued for Lake County, Illinois, until 3:30 p.m.
While the first round of storms has moved out of the area, a second is expected to arrive later this afternoon and through the evening hours, with the break between waves giving the atmosphere time to recharge.
Damaging winds, flooding, hail and possible tornadoes all remain threats through 7 p.m., when the severe thunderstorm watch is set to expire.
In Downers Grove, firefighters are working to rescue two contractor workers who got swept into the storm sewer during the torrential downpour.
In Lansing, a woman was struck by debris when she went outside to get her dog after tornado sirens went off and part of her roof collapsed.
Starting late Monday night through Wednesday morning, winds will be aggressive out of the northeast. While this storm will help the humidity drop for a couple days, it humidity levels will start to rise again by Thursday and on Friday and Saturday there are more rain and storm chances as Lollapalooza is held in Grant Park.
There were delays on the CTA Red and Purple lines and service is temporarily suspended on the Yellow lines because of debris blown onto the tracks from the storms. Purple line trains are not operating between Howard and Linden because of debris on the tracks near Central.
Wind damage, flooding, power outages reported from storms
Extensive storm damage has been reported after the first round of storms moved out of the area. There were reports of downed trees in Oak Forest, Chicago Heights, Beverly, Orland Park and Palos Heights.
Orland Park and Palos Heights police also reported downed power lines. In Orland Park, police said traffic lights were out and downed trees and power lines were blocking some roads. There are also many reports of flooding.
in Frankfort, police said Lagrange Road from Nebraska to Laraway has been temporarily closed due to flooding. Motorists are asked to avoid the area.
The National Weather Service has received reports of wind gusts between 90 and 100 miles per hour in the south and southwest suburbs. A line of wind damage running about 60 miles southeast from Schaumburg has also been reported. In Lansing, Markham and Ford Heights, there are reports that roofs have been ripped from buildings by the high winds, though officials have not yet confirmed them.
There are possibilities for derechos and straight-line winds, as well as rotating thunderstorms that could spawn tornadoes through the evening hours.
A ground stop remains in effect at Chicago Midway International Airport due to the storms as of 3:10 p.m. The ground stop at O'Hare has been lifted but there are extensive delays from the earlier stop.
Heavy downpours have been reported in the areas affected by storm warnings. There have also been reports of hail as large as egg-sized or potentially baseball-sized, and high wind gusts.
In southwest suburban Summit, near the border with Bedford Park, so much rain fell so quickly that roads were completely washed out and sidewalks were flooded. The water was high enough that the houses in the area likely suffered some damage.
In downtown Chicago, rain totals of more than 2 inches in an hour or less have been recorded, with rain continuing, hard and steady, through midday.
Radar has also picked up heavy lightning strikes from the storms, and the potential for destructive winds is high.
ComEd is reporting power outages affecting more than 281,000 customers in its service area from the storms as of 2:51 p.m. In Northwest Indiana, Nipsco reported power outages affecting more than 27,000 customers as of 3 p.m.
