Tornado reported in NW Indiana as Memorial Day storms move through Chicago area

Hail the size of ping-pong balls and a tornado hit parts of northern Illinois and northwest Indiana on Memorial Day as a large storm moved through the Chicago area and dumped over an inch of rain.

The tornado touched down about 4:30 p.m. near the Illinois/Indiana border just east of south suburban Sauk Village, the National Weather Service said. It is unclear if anyone was injured.

Strong winds in the south suburbs reportedly brought the canopy of gas station on a car in south suburban Alsip. The driver was reportedly uninjured. In south suburban Steger, hail the size of ping-pong balls was reported, the weather service said.

The weather service continued to warn of imminently possible tornadoes in northwest Indiana in the evening as the storm moved east at 40 mph. Storms moved out of the Chicago area by 9 p.m., and a tornado watch that blanketed all of northern Illlinois was cancelled by 7 p.m.

Heavy rainfall accompanied the storms, and led to flash flooding in some areas, the weather service said. State police reported major flooding that cut off an underpass on 95th Street in southwest suburban Bridgeview. Residents were advised to remain indoors until the storms pass.

By 6 p.m., nearly 600 flights had been canceled at O’Hare and Midway International airports, the Chicago Department of Aviation said. Delays at O’Hare averaged over an hour-and-a-half.

A total of 12,000 ComEd customers were without power shortly after 4 p.m., according to the utility company. Of those, 9,000 were in Cook County. The number of Cook County homes without power was down to 3,000 by 10 p.m.