Tornado warnings sounded as storms ravaged the Chicago area Monday evening, with winds reaching up to 90 mph in Chicago and ripping off the roof of a suburban apartment building.
According to ComEd, more than 53,000 ComEd customers in the Chicago area lost electricity, and the Maywood suburbs carried the weight of the impact with 44,000 outages. More than 43,000 were left without electricity on Tuesday morning.
Despite the rotating nature of the storm cell, no tornado was confirmed, said National Meteorological Service meteorologist Ricky Castro.
“There may have been a tornado in the northern suburbs, but it’s not something we can conclusively say until we get a crew to examine the area; that will probably happen on Tuesday,” Castro said.
The winds blew 84 mph at O’Hare Airport and 69 mph at Midway Airport, Castro said. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a ground stop at O’Hare.
There were reports of wind damage along the storm’s road, which stretched from northern Kane County through Chicago to northwest Indiana. There were also reports of one-inch-diameter hail.
Thousands of people were shocked by Meteorological Service warnings sent to their mobile phones, saying: “Shelter now in a basement or an interior room on the lower floor of a sturdy building. If you’re outdoors, in a mobile home or in a vehicle, go to the nearest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris. “
The storm moved through the northern suburbs at about 30 mph before turning southeast and slightly increasing speed before crossing the city around 7 p.m., Castro said.
“The warnings came out well in advance,” Castro said.
Videos posted on Twitter showed severe damage to the wall of a parking garage at the Toyota dealership in Lincoln Park.
Part of a wall collapsed at the Toyota dealership in Lincoln Park at 1561 N. Freemont St., but no one was injured, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman said.
The city also received numerous complaints of felled trees, making some roads impassable and covering cars with branches. Accompanied damage was reported, but there were no reports of injuries caused by the storm, a fire spokesman said.
According to CBS News Chicago, strong winds partially ripped off the roof of an apartment building in the western suburbs of Bellwood, displacing 30 families. And two planes parked at Schaumburg Regional Airport were blown up.
Time also delayed the start of a Cubs game against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field as fans sought refuge in the Friendly Confines.
The storms caused a rise in temperatures that are expected to rise until the 1990s on Tuesday and Wednesday. The city has opened its cooling centers, as forecasters predict heat rates in excess of 105 degrees.