Chicago Weather: Cleanup continues after severe storms rip through area

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Cleanup is underway after severe storms ripped through the Chicago area, taking down trees, causing power outages and prompting tornado watches and warnings.

ComEd officials said at one point 14,000 customers were without power. The outages were scattered. By 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, 3,000 customers were still in the dark. Crews are still working to restore power. Officials said ComEd expects to have a majority of those outages fixed by mid-afternoon Wednesday.

In northwest suburban Schiller Park, a tree limb splintered from a large tree and fell onto the roof of a house. Authorities are checking for more damage to homes in the area.

In north suburban Wilmette, downed trees rendered one road impassable and littered other streets and yards. Standing water flooded the parking lot of a local Jewel. In nearby Skokie, a tree landed on top of a car in the 9300-block of Hamlin Avenue.

Lightning in southwest suburban Darien may have started a fire at one home. Firefighters quickly put out the flames. No one was hurt.

"It all started shortly after a strong round of thunderstorms rolled through. It has all the hallmarks of a lightning strike," Darien Fire Chief Steven Gorsky said.

Threatening clouds dumped heavy rain in southwest suburban Joliet and nearby Romeoville. Some motorists opted to pull over and wait it out while pedestrians took cover.

The worst of the storms hit around 8 p.m. Tuesday. An hour later, some areas were starting to dry out.

TORNADO REPORTS

At least two tornado touchdowns were reported in Livingston County Tuesday evening.

Law enforcement officials reported two brief tornado touchdowns near Cornell, Ill., around 4:30 p.m. and near Pontiac around 5 p.m. National Weather Service teams will survey the area to confirm whether any tornadoes touched down.

Livingston County Emergency Management spokesperson Charles Schopp said there are no reports of any damage from the storms in Cornell or Pontiac. He said the area is very rural.

Funnel clouds were also spotted Tuesday afternoon in several areas, including Streator and Lexington, which is near Pontiac.

PHOTOS: Funnel clouds spotted in Chicago area