Severe Storms Hit Suburbs
Roof partially torn off of high school in Burbank
The roof blow off the St. Laurence High School dugout with the team inside, 2 people hurt. Sent from my iPhone Scott
Severe storms hit parts Cook County this afternoon, causing damage and two injuries at a Burbank high school.
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The roof of a baseball dugout was torn off at St. Laurence High School in Burbank. Jim Topps, a 16-year-old player, was taken to a hospital with cuts and bruises. He was later released, but doctors used staples to suture a head wound he suffered when a cinder block hit him. The coach also suffered minor injuries when debris fell on his leg.
Witnesses said the weather quickly turned from hot to cold, then heavy rain and powerful winds pummeled the area.
Sixty mph wind gusts were reported in Evergreen Park and at Midway Airport. Winds were clocked at 51 mph at O'Hare, and dime-size hail came down near I-290 and Cicero.
The downpour of rain has caused flooding in some low-lying areas, covering some side-streets with water. Cicero Avenue is covered in water in multiple places from Cermak to 79th, causing huge traffic delays.
A lightning strike at a West Side water tower started a small fire just after 2 p.m. at a two-story building at 4700 W. Augusta Blvd. The building is the home of Citation Box and Paper Co., which distributes corrugated boxes and packaging materials, according to an online directory.
Due to flooding underneath a viaduct on 47th at Kilbourn, service on the CTA's Pink Line was temporarily suspended between the Pulaski and the 54th/Cermak stations.
Copyright SunTimes / NBC Chicago
Posted Thursday, Jul 30, 2009 - 1:44 PM CST
