Chicago weather: ‘Pretty quiet’ through election after thunderstorm, but more storms likely late Tuesday
A severe thunderstorm rolled through Chicago on Tuesday afternoon, with heavy winds causing damage and large hail hitting parts of the city and suburbs.
But the weather should be “pretty quiet” through 7 p.m., when polls close for Chicago’s mayoral runoff election, National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Donofrio said. More severe storms were possible late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, he added.
The weather service had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Chicago, Aurora and Naperville that expired at 2:45 p.m. Wind gusts of 70 mph and golf ball-sized hail were possible, the warning said.
“We had a whole slew of hail and wind reports,” Donofrio said after the storm passed.
The storm tore from western Illinois through the western and southwestern suburbs before hitting Chicago’s North Side, he said.
Three-inch hail was reported in Oswego, while hail “up to almost 2 inches” was reported in some suburbs and far north neighborhoods, he added.
Severe wind caused “significant roof damage” to three buildings in Humboldt Park but there were no reported injuries, the Chicago Fire Department said.
“Other locations have trees down or power poles damaged,” the department wrote in a tweet.
Donofrio said strong winds uprooted trees from Westchester, River Forest and Oak Park through the Logan Square and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.
No severe storm warnings were in place around 4 p.m. Tuesday, though a tornado watch for far western Illinois was set to remain in effect until 10 p.m., he said.
Temperatures were expected to rise from the 40s into the 60s and could even approach 70 degrees, Donofrio said.
Meteorologists were also tracking a band of severe thunderstorms crossing Iowa, and “several rounds” of storms are expected to hit Chicago and the suburbs overnight and early Wednesday, Donofrio said. Isolated storms could hit as soon as 9 p.m. Tuesday, but are most likely to occur after 5 a.m. Wednesday, he said.
“The big key is make sure people have multiple ways to receive watches and warning information” Donofrio said.
Though there was still uncertainty about whether the Tuesday and Wednesday thunderstorms would produce tornadoes, Robert Trapp, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois, told the Tribune Monday that the threat of tornadoes is highest when a severe storm forms ahead of a cold front.
“It does happen fairly often, especially at this time of the year,” he said. “The situation last week and this week is one of those.”
Following a tornado that tore through Belvidere Friday night, which led to a fatal roof collapse, and another tornado that killed three people in New Hebron, weather authorities are warning people to stay alert and prepared.
The weather service confirmed that 18 tornadoes tore through Illinois Friday evening.
Check back for updates.
