Severe Weather Sweeps Across Chicago Area

The chance for showers and storms will continue through Wednesday

Severe weather dampened the first official day of summer for much of the Chicago area.

Several suburbs reported damage following the storms, which prompted tornado, thunderstorm and flash flood warnings.

A Tornado Warning was issued for parts of Lake and McHenry counties and remained in effect until 5:15 p.m.

A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Lakemoore and was moving Southeast at 20 miles per hour, according to the alert.

A second Tornado Warning was issued for Iroquois County until 5:30 p.m.

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for parts of the Chicago area Saturday afternoon.

The warning remained in effect in Kankakee, McHenry, Cook and Lake counties until 5:15 p.m and was extended to 7:30 p.m. for Cook, Kankakee, and Will counties in Illinois and Lake and Porter counties in Indiana.

In addition, a Flash Flood Warning was issued for Cook and DuPage counties until 11:30 p.m. Saturday, in Lake County until 12:30 a.m. Sunday and in Will County until 1 a.m. Sunday.

By 5:45 p.m., O'Hare International Airport had recorded 0.9 inches of rain in 20 minutes.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was also issued Saturday for nearly all of the Chicago area.

The watch remained in effect until 9 p.m. Saturday.

As of 7:30 p.m. Saturday, ComEd said 17,690 customers were without power.

Officials in suburban Wauconda said roughly 100 homes were without power in the area and reported damage from falling trees and power lines.

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration said storms caused delays of up to nearly two hours at O'Hare International Airport.

Midway Airport was reporting delays of up to an hour and a half and inbound flights were being held until 7 p.m.

The Chicago area was under a slight risk for severe weather Saturday, with scattered showers and storms expected during the late afternoon and evening hours.

Some storms could produce wind gusts higher than 50 miles per hour, torrential downpours, frequent lightning and small hail, according to the National Weather Service.

The wet weather could continue into the overnight hours, particularly for areas south of Chicago.

Temperatures will remain in the 80s Saturday and Sunday, and while Sunday morning is expected to start out dry, the stormy patterns are forecast to return for the afternoon and evening.

The chance for showers and storms will continue through Wednesday when temperatures are expected to dip into the 70s.

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