Commonwealth Edison says it could take days to restore power after a violent wave of storms packing 80 mph winds left more than a quarter million customers without electricity throughout the Chicago area.
As of 11 a.m., 250,000 customers were still without power, down from a peak of 288,000. About two-thirds of the outages were in the northern suburbs hardest hit by the storms, with about 178,000 customers in the utility's North Region without power. ComEd said power had been restored to more than 150,000 customers.
At Northwestern University's Evanston campus, 42 buildings without power this morning, according to an alert on the university website. School officials said they weren't sure when power would be restored, though they said ComEd crews were working to restore service. The alert doesn’t indicate whether any classes had been canceled.
Elsewhere, some two dozen schools, most of them in west suburban Elmhurst, were closed. The Maywood courthouse also was closed for lack of electricity.
The storms, which spawned funnel clouds and tornado warnings Tuesday night, forced the cancellation of about 330 flights, stalled Metra trains on their tracks and left streets littered with tree limbs and debris.
There were lingering transportation problems this morning.
As of 10:30 a.m., airlines atO'Hare International Airport had canceled 360 flights, and incoming and outgoing flights were experiencing 15 minute delays, according to the city's Department of Aviation. There were no reported problems at Midway.
The CTA suspended service on its Yellow Line and briefly did the same on the Purple Line due to ComEd issues affecting crossing gates.
Metra experienced delays of at least 5 to 10 minutes on inbound trains on the Union Pacific Northwest, Union Pacific West, Milwaukee District North and Milwaukee District West lines due to signal problems in the vicinity of Western Avenue. North Central Service line trains were 10-20 minutes behind.
(For continual weather updates, check the Chicago Weather Center.)
Two people were taken in serious to critical condition to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston after their car was crushed by a fallen tree near Farragut and Leavitt avenues in the Bomanville neighborhood on the North Side.
Chainsaw crews were out in force. Large limbs were downed — and some trees uprooted — in Deerfield, Des Plaines, Elmhurst, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Norridge and Skokie, among other suburbs. A Niles apartment building lost its roof, as did a building in Elk Grove Village.
Funnel clouds were spotted in Naperville, Aurora, about 5 miles west ofGrayslake in Lake County and four miles north-northwest ofSugar Grove in Kane County, but there were no confirmed reports of touchdowns. Winds were recorded at 60 to 75 mph, with an 81 mph gust in Wheeling.
But damage was still heavy, with roofs ripped off and tree branches and power lines left strewn across streets and yards. A truck driver on the Illinois tollway a quarter mile east of the Des Plaines plaza reported that strong winds blew the back of a billboard onto the highway.
InNaperville, a City Council meeting was stopped and everyone in attendance was evacuated to the City Hall basement because of “tornadic activity.” People attending a book signing in downtownNaperville similarly were ushered into the basement.
Joliet was deluged with nearly an inch of rainfall in only 16 minutes.
More than 300 flights were canceled at O’Hare International Airport and another 30 at Midway. Incoming and outgoing travelers also encountered delays of an hour and more. One of those delayed getting out of town was Vice President Joe Biden, who had been here for a couple of fundraisers.
The severe weather also delayed numerous Metra trains and forced the cancellation of others. One outbound commuter train was stuck for about five hours when the storm knocked down a power line onto the rail, said Metra spokesman Michael Gillis. After 2 a.m., the train was headed back downtown, and passengers were being asked to find alternative transportation or wait even longer for another train.
For updated schedules check the Metra website.
Today’s weather outlook is much tamer. The National Weather Service forecasts a 40 percent chance of showers in the late morning and afternoon, with southwest winds of 15 to 25 mph. The high will be in the mid 70s.
Before last night’s storm, June already had shaped up as one of the wettest on record.
Through Monday, 6.94 inches of rain had been recorded at Midway Airport, making this the third wettest start to June since observations started at the airport in 1928, according to WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling