The Chicago area was hammered with severe weather on Tuesday, with multiple tornado touchdowns and a slew of severe thunderstorm warnings.
Wind gusts in excess of 60 miles per hour were reported across the area, along with large hail, according to trained weather spotters.
According to trained weather spotters, at least four tornadoes touched down in different areas, with golf ball-size hail also reported.
You can find a full recap of those happenings HERE, but for a beat-by-beat breakdown of the storms as they developed, please read below.
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Current Watches, Warnings
-A tornado watch remains in effect until 10 p.m. for Cook and Will counties in Illinois, as well as Lake and Porter counties in northwest Indiana.
-The area will be under a wind advisory beginning at 9 p.m., with gusts maintaining at 35-to-45 miles per hour through at least Wednesday morning.
Local
9:30 p.m. – ComEd customers still experiencing power issues in Cook County
Nearly 5,000 ComEd customers are without power in Cook County after a round of severe thunderstorms hammered the area.
According to the utility, 4,896 customers were impacted by those outages. Approximately 700 were without power in Lake County, with another 608 without power in DuPage County.
9:06 p.m.: Tornado warning issued for Cook, Lake counties
A tornado warning has been issued for southeastern Cook County in Illinois and northwestern Lake County in Indiana until 9:30 p.m.
According to the National Weather Service, a storm capable of producing a tornado was located over South Holland, moving east at 35 miles per hour.
Radar indicated rotation within the cell, according to officials. Hammond, East Chicago, Lansing, Munster and Dolton could all be impacted by the tornadic cell.
9:02 p.m.: Severe thunderstorm warning issued in NW Indiana
A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued in northern Lake County in Indiana until 9:45 p.m.
Officials say severe storms are located along a line extending from Whiting to South Holland, moving east at 30 miles per hour.
The storms are generating wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour and half dollar-size hail, officials said.
8:17 p.m.: Severe thunderstorm warning issued in southern Cook County
A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for southern Cook County until 9 p.m.
According to officials, storms were located on a line extending from South Lawndale to Mokena, moving east at 25 miles per hour.
The storms could pack wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour and half dollar-size hail.
8:12 p.m.: More than 6,500 ComEd Customers without power
Officials with ComEd say that more than 6,500 customers are without power at this time.
Most of those outages are in Cook County, with 3,296 customers in the dark as of 8:06 p.m.
In Lake County, 1,463 customers are without power, and 1,115 customers are without power in Kane County.
7:55 p.m.: Metra updates from around their system
All trains on the Union Pacific North Line remain halted due to tornado warnings, officials said.
Union Pacific-Northwest Line trains are halted in both directions near Barrington because of the severe weather.
Multiple stoppages and delays are being reported on the Union Pacific-West line as well.
BNSF trains are halted in both directions near Aurora because of earlier tornado warnings. There is no word on when service will resume.
7:40 p.m.: Tornado warning halts flights at O'Hare
According to the FAA, all departing flights are being held at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport because of an ongoing tornado warning.
Arriving flights from multiple airports were also assigned to holding patterns until the storm passes, officials said.
7:36 p.m.: Tornado warning issued for southeastern Lake, northern Cook counties
A tornado warning has been issued for southern Lake County and northern Cook County until 8:30 p.m.
According to the National Weather Service, the warned area includes Buffalo Grove, Highland Park, Arlington Heights, Glenview, Evanston, and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
Radar-indicated rotation sparked the warning, according to officials.
7:29 p.m.: Metra trains halted by tornado warnings
All train movement has been halted on the Metra UP-Northwest line near Barrington amid a tornado warning in the impacted area.
Officials with Metra also say that multiple trains on the Union Pacific-West line have been delayed because of storms.
All trains on the BNSF line are stopped near Aurora because of ongoing tornado warnings, officials said.
7:21 p.m.: Tornado warnings issued for parts of McHenry, Lake, DuPage and Cook counties
A tornado warning has been issued for northwestern DuPage County and northwestern Cook County until 7:45 p.m.
A storm located near Geneva, moving to the northeast at 50 miles per hour, showed radar-indicated rotation, according to officials.
Streamwood, Carol Stream, Hanover Park, Bloomingdale and Wayne are all in the path of the tornado.
Another tornado warning was issued for southwestern Lake County, southeastern McHenry County and northwestern Cook County until 7:45 p.m.
A tornado-producing line extended from Algonquin to Elgin at 7:17 p.m., moving to the northeast.
7:15 p.m. Tornado warning issued in southeastern Kane County
A tornado warning has been issued for southeastern Kane County, as a confirmed tornado-producing storm moves through the area.
A tornado was reported in Kane County as part of this cell, with the storm moving through St. Charles, Batavia, Geneva and North Aurora at the time of the warning.
Residents are urged to seek shelter immediately.
7:09 p.m.: Severe thunderstorm warning issued in huge swath of NE Illinois
A fresh severe thunderstorm warning covers all of Kane, Kendall, DuPage and Cook counties, as well as southern Lake County, northwestern Will County, and southeastern McHenry County.
The warning will remain in effect until 8:15 p.m.
According to officials, storms were located along a line extending from Algonquin to near Campton Hills to near Sugar Grove and Yorkville, moving east at 40 miles per hour.
Wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour and half-dollar size hail are possible.
6:56 p.m.: Tornado warning for parts of Kane, Kendall counties
A tornado warning has been issued for northern Kendall County and southern Kane County until 7:30 p.m.
A storm capable of producing a tornado was located over Hinckley at approximately 6:54 p.m., moving to the east at 40 miles per hour.
The storm is expected to impact Yorkville and Sugar Grove around 7 p.m., then proceed on to Aurora and Montgomery a few minutes later, according to officials.
6:51 p.m.: Tornado warning issued for parts of Kane County
A tornado warning has been issued for west-central Kane County until 7:30 p.m.
According to officials, a severe storm capable of producing a tornado was located near Maple Park, moving to the northeast at 20 miles per hour.
Radar indicated rotation within the cell, prompting the warning.
The storm will be located near Elburn at 7 p.m., and Lilly Lake at 7:05 p.m. Campton Hills is also in the path of the storm.
6:49 p.m.: Severe thunderstorm warning issued for parts of LaSalle, Kendall counties
A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for northeastern LaSalle County and all of Kane County until 7:30 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
According to officials, a line of storms was located from Waterman to Leland, moving east at 45 miles per hour.
Wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour and quarter-size hail are possible, and these storms have caused at least one tornado.
6:45 p.m.: Severe thunderstorm warning still in effect for DeKalb, Kane counties
A severe thunderstorm warning continues until 7:15 p.m. for DeKalb and Kane counties in Illinois. Officials say storms are currently located on a line from Shabonna to Cortland, moving to the east at 25 miles per hour.
Wind gusts in excess of 60 miles per hour are possible, along with ping pong ball-size hail.
6:31 p.m.: Tornado touchdown confirmed in DeKalb County
At approximately 6:31 p.m., a confirmed tornado was spotted just north of Waterman in DeKalb County, approximately seven miles south of DeKalb.
The tornado was moving to the east at 15 miles per hour, and is expected to move near Hinckley. Seek shelter in those areas immediately.
6:28 p.m.: Tornado warning issued in parts of DeKalb County
A tornado warning has been issued for east-central DeKalb County until 7:15 p.m.
As of 6:22 p.m., a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near DeKalb, moving to the northeast at 20 miles per hour.
Radar indicated rotation within the cell, prompting the warning. That cell will be near Maple Park at approximately 6:40 p.m.
6:17 p.m.: Golf ball-size hail reported in several suburbs
A severe thunderstorm warning remains in effect for DeKalb and Kane counties until 7:15 p.m., and the storm could produce golf ball-sized hail, according to NWS officials.
6:07 p.m. Funnel cloud spotted in tornado-warned cell
Weather spotters have reported a funnel cloud near Sublette as part of a tornado warning covering parts of Lee and LaSalle counties:
Tornado warning issued for parts of LaSalle, Lee counties
A tornado warning is now in effect for eastern Lee County and northwestern LaSalle County until 6:45 p.m.
According to NWS officials, a storm capable of producing a tornado was located over Sublette, approximately seven miles from Mendota.
Radar indicated rotation within the cell, triggering the warning.
Residents are urged to seek shelter immediately.
Severe thunderstorm warning issued for DeKalb, Kane counties
A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for DeKalb and Kane counties in Illinois until 7:15 p.m.
According to the National Weather Service, the storms were located along a line stretching from Sublette to Leland, moving toward the northeast at 30 miles per hour.
The main threats with the storms appear to be ping pong ball-size hail, and wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour.
Aurora, Elgin, DeKalb, Huntley, Geneva, Sycamore, Sugar Grove and Gilberts are among the communities impacted.
Baseball-size hail possible in Chicago area as severe weather approaches
The Chicago area is facing threats from isolated tornadoes and gusty winds on Tuesday, but extremely large hail is also possible, according to the National Weather Service.
A tornado watch was issued for the entire area through 10 p.m. Tuesday, but forecasters are also alerting the public to the possibility of some dangerously large hail as well.
According to the watch, there is an “elevated hail risk,” with some hailstones potentially reaching up to 3 inches in diameter. For context, that is slightly larger than a baseball, according to NWS officials.
Hail of that size can not only damage windows, siding and roofs, but can also cause serious damage to cars and can even cause bodily injury, with estimates suggesting that such stones can fall from the sky in excess of 40 miles per hour.
You can find more details here.
ComEd prepared for expected severe weather in Chicago, utility says
With gusty winds and severe thunderstorms expected to impact the Chicago area on Tuesday night, ComEd says it is positioning additional crews and equipment to respond to outages.
According to a press release, the company is taking “proactive steps” to address any challenges the weather brings, with wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour and large hail potentially taxing the grid on Tuesday.
“We are taking proactive steps to be ready to work quickly and safely to restore power to any customers impacted by the weather,” ComEd COO David Perez said in a statement. “We recognize that any outage is inconvenient for our customers, which is why we must continue to make investments to harden the power grid and improve resilience to storms, especially as they become more frequent and severe due to climate change.”
According to the release from the company, crews will prioritize restoring power to police and fire stations, as well as nursing homes and hospitals, in the event of any outages.
You can get the latest outage updates from the company here.
Tornado watch issued as severe weather outbreak appears more likely
A tornado watch has been issued for the entire Chicago area Tuesday afternoon, with forecasters warning of the potential for “significant” tornadoes as part of a severe weather outbreak.
That watch includes the entire NBC 5 viewing area in northeastern Illinois and northwest Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.
Severe thunderstorms are expected to impact the area in the evening hours ahead of a fast-moving cold front, with tornadoes, damaging hail and gusty winds all expected as part of the storms.
The Storm Prediction Center has also upgraded the entire Chicago area to an “enhanced” risk of severe weather, with gusts up to 60 miles per hour and hail up to two inches in diameter possible along with the possibility of “significant” tornadoes.
