More severe weather and dangerously warm temperatures were expected across northern Illinois Wednesday, a day after thunderstorms knocked out power to more than 190,000 customers.
By 1 p.m. Wednesday, nearly 100,000 customers remained without power from a storm that packed wind gusts up to 70 mph, according to Commonwealth Edison.
The storm also caused delays on CTA lines because of debris on the track, and blew down trees and caused other damage in the city as well as the northwest and southwest suburbs.
Residents in Evanston and Plainfield reported extensive tree damage, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Ricky Castro.
In Evanston, about 6,000 customers lost power and there were reports of malfunctioning street lights, traffic signals and street flooding.
The storm, approaching from the west, passed through downtown Chicago around 8 p.m. Tuesday, Castro said, but the most significant damage was in the suburbs.
Another round of strong to severe weather began rolling into the Chicago area Wednesday morning. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued around 9:45 a.m. and expired at 10:45 a.m., the weather service said.
Winds at O’Hare Airport gusted to 59 mph just after 10 a.m., powerful enough to blow tents, down branches and possibly down small trees, according to the weather service.
Another band of storms was likely late Wednesday afternoon or evening, with damaging winds, isolated large hail and a “limited” risk of tornados, the weather service said. The system will likely develop before 11 p.m.
Wednesday is also gonna be hot. A heat advisory will be in effect from noon until 7 p.m., with temperatures soaring above 90 degrees and a heat index around 105 degrees.
