Wind advisory extended after strong gusts topple trees, close suburban COVID-19 testing sites

Blustery weather tore through the Chicago area Sunday, knocking down several trees in the city and forcing some suburban coronavirus testing locations to shutdown early.

While the gusty weather is expected to let up later in the night, a wind advisory set to expire early Sunday evening was extended to 8 p.m. in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties, National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Ratzer said.

This comes after Chicago recorded wind gusts as strong as 69 mph.

The powerful winds resulted in trees toppling into streets across Chicago, including one that blocked both lanes of traffic at Pershing Road and Western Avenue, the Chicago Police Department tweeted.

The wind also caused four suburban COVID-19 community-based testing sites to close early.

The Illinois Department of Public Health tweeted Sunday afternoon that the Arlington Heights, Waukegan, South Holland and Aurora testing sites closed prematurely in order to ensure patients and staff’s safety. All four sites are expected to reopen Monday, officials said.

While the winds are expected to gradually decrease throughout the night, Monday looks to be another breezy day. Chicago is forecasted to start its work week with highs in the mid- to upper-40s and some gusts ranging from 20 to 25 mph, Ratzer said.

“Skies will clear out, it’ll still be kind of breezy tomorrow ... but nothing like we saw today,” he said.