Severe Thunderstorms Batter Chicago Area: Fall-like Temperatures and Power Outages Follow
A strong thunderstorm hit parts of DuPage, Cook, and Lake Counties early Tuesday morning, waking some people up with thunder, heavy rain, and lightning. The storm lasted until 4:45 a.m.
The NBC 5 Storm Team said that by 5:30 a.m., the storm had moved over Lake Michigan. This left most of the area dry, though it might sprinkle or rain Tuesday morning and afternoon. Alicia Roman, a meteorologist for NBC 5, said, “Maybe some pockets of drizzle over the next couple of hours.”
Even though the bad weather passed, the National Weather Service said that winds gusting as high as 60 miles per hour may have caused damage along its path.
ComEd’s outage map shows that as of 5:30 a.m., about 750 people were without power, with most of them being in McHenry, Kane, and Cook Counties.
It will get drier in the afternoon on Tuesday, but Roman said there will still be strong winds with gusts as high as 30 miles per hour. Beaches in Indiana and Illinois along Lake Michigan will be dangerous until Wednesday.
“Dangerous conditions for swimming are expected,” the NWS said. “High waves of 6 to 10 feet and hazardous boating conditions.”
Roman said that temperatures and humidity will also drop as a cold front moves through on Tuesday.
Roman says the south’s temperatures will be in the 70s and 80s on Tuesday morning but drop to the 60s by evening. Roman said that it would be warm all day long in the 60s in the northern counties.
Yesterday, it was in the upper 80s to low 90s, so these temperatures are very different, Roman said. Wednesday was supposed to bring cooler weather and a little higher temperatures.
Román said that it might rain again on Tuesday of next week.