As a tornado tore through Pontiac, multiple people were trapped inside a trailer, according to the National Weather Service.
As of 10:25 p.m., a confirmed tornado was located near Pontiac, in Livingston County, moving southeast at 40 miles per hour.
Officials warn everyone in the area to take cover immediately. Residents are advised to move to a basement or interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building and avoid windows.
There were also multiple reports of power outages in Pontiac. A spokesperson for ComEd confirmed outages, but did not have specific numbers for Pontiac, saying about 15,000 people were without power throughout the Chicago area.
Several counties were placed under a Tornado Watch just after 6 p.m. The watch includes Livingston, Ford, Iroquois, Will, Kakakee, Grundy and Kendall counties in Illinois and Benton, Newton, Jasper, Porter and Lake counties in Indiana. The Tornado Watch issued for Cook, Kane, and DuPage counties was canceled around 9:45 p.m., but for the rest of the area, it remains in effect until 1 a.m. Thursday.
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A Flash Flood Watch will also be in effect from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, LaSalle, Lake McHenry and Will counties.
Residents are urged to stay alert to the evolving conditions and have a safety plan in place in the event severe storms hit your neighborhood.
