From downed trees to a blown-off roof, several instances of damage were reported Saturday evening following storms that moved through portions of the Chicago area.
Wind gusts reached 65 miles per hour in suburban Plainfield, where an irrigation system apparently blew into a fence, according to storm damage reports from the National Weather Service.
To the northeast, in Oak Brook, a roof was blown off a free-standing bathroom located on the golf course at the Hilton Oak Brook Hills resort. Nearby, Westmont firefighters didn't waste anytime clearing trees and debris from area streets.
"Pretty powerful," said Chief Steve Riley, referring to the storms. "Obviously, you know, the National Weather Service is going to have to give us, you know, if we had a true tornado..."
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Friends Inan White and Jack White were practicing their golf swings when severe weather rolled through.
"We decided to hit a couple balls," one of the friends said. "And you know, I don't know, we got literally going the opposite way. It was probably one of the coolest times I've ever golfed."
In other portions of the region, hail came down in places like Darien and Western Springs.
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Brenda Easter, who live near where the bathroom roof was ripped off, said she heard tornado sirens, which was also the case in several other communities.
Once the sirens sounded, Easter rushed to the basement.
"Our property, nothing was damaged over there," she said. "But it was kind of scary when we heard it on the news and how close it was."
The weather system also caused power outages in Rockford, where multiple traffic lights were rendered inoperable and a building collapse was reported. At least one intersection was closed due to storm damage, according to Rockford police.
