Chicago Weather: Severe Thunderstorms Pound Area With Strong Winds, Heavy Rain, Lightning; More Storms Possible Wednesday Evening
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Severe storms pounded for the Chicago area Tuesday night for the second night in a row, producing gusty and dangerous winds and torrential rain.
And wouldn't you know it, more storms could be coming Wednesday evening.
A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect until for much of the evening Tuesday throughout the Chicago area, and persisted for parts of Northwest Indiana well into the night.
As the storms first hit the suburbs west of Chicago, winds of 60 mph were also reported in Kendall County, and winds gusted to 58 mph at O'Hare International Airport and later 60 mph at Midway International Airport.
The storm passed right over Wrigley Field, where the Cubs were taking on the Milwaukee Brewers and the game had to be delayed. The game did later resume and was still in progress just before 11 p.m.
The Cubs' game on Monday night also had to be postponed because of severe weather.
Thunder was first heard in East Lakeview at 7:45 p.m. To the north, strong winds were reported in Evanston, Skokie, Morton Grove, and Glenview. Debris that came down has led to the suspension on the Chicago Transit Authority Yellow Line, and Metra service on the Union Pacific-North, Northwest, and West lines were also suspended.
CTA Brown Line trains were also standing at Sedgwick due to debris on the tracks.
By just after 8 p.m., dangerous winds were headed right for the downtown area. Gusts of as much as 70 mph were a concern near the lakefront.
In the city, wind brought down a tree at Touhy and Kedzie avenues in West Ridge. The Evanston Fire Department reported the storms knocked down trees all around the northern suburb, resulting in a massive power outage.
There were also reports of flooding on the Stevenson Expressway at Pulaski Road.
Earlier, damage was reported in several suburban areas. In Oak Brook, CBS 2's Meredith Barack reported power lines came down at Midwest and Butterfield roads and started fires.
In Kenosha, Wisconsin, there were multiple reports of trees and wires down. Police there advised the public to use extreme caution and stay inside.
A total of 178,192 ComEd customers were reported to be without power around the Chicago area as of 10 p.m.
The National Weather Service has also issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, Lake, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Will, and Winnebago counties through 10 p.m. Parts of northwest Indiana were added to the watch later in the day.
By just before 9 p.m., the situation had stabilized for most of the area, but storms were still pounding Northwest Indiana with rain, wind, and hail, and a tail for the storms was sweeping over Kankakee County.
No tornadoes were reported Tuesday night.
The severe threat finally exited to the south and east late Tuesday, However, a few non-severe storms are possible overnight.
On Wednesday, look for more heat and humidity with a heat advisory for Wednesday afternoon.
Another round of severe storms may be possible Wednesday evening. It is not likely that there will be as many severe storms as seen on Tuesday.
It will be steamy and stormy through early Thursday, but followed by relief by the weekend.
