Chicago weather: Midday storms down trees, cause power outages in Chicago area

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Strong thunderstorms moving through the Chicago area left downed trees and power outages in their wake, and prompted a series of severe thunderstorm warnings for multiple counties, as well as a longer severe thunderstorm watch.

Strong winds and heavy rain were a prominent part of the midday storms, leaving damage in their wake.

On Chicago's North and Northwest Sides, snapped light poles and snarled power lines were strewn across the sidewalk.

That area of the city, stretching up into Skokie, saw some of the most powerful winds, sending trees crashing into streets and bending others that didn't break.

"The storm blew though, really high winds, a lot of the trees here were bending with those winds. I turned around for a second and this one came down. Just blocking the street here. Luckily it didn't hit anybody's car," said Paul Serilla of Skokie.

The winds forced people to drop their Monday afternoon plans and grab the chainsaw instead. Neighbors near Devon and Cicero made quick work of the cleanup, sawing up freshly collapsed tree trunks to clear the way for traffic as much as they could.

In the north suburbs, the storm began rolling through around 1 p.m., taking down some trees with it. Crews are working to remove downed branches and other debris in Wilmette and Winnetka. Residents there said they lost power for a moment but it was quickly restored.

In Evanston, more downed tree limbs were being cleaned up, and in Des Plaines photos showed a tree snapped at the trunk near a power line.

After a wave of strong storms moved through, there are reports of downed trees, storm damage and power outages in the Chicago area.

There were also reports of power outages. As of 9 p.m., ComEd said 3,200 customers are still without power, and power to 63,000 customers has been restored..

No injuries have been reported.

After a warm and mostly quiet morning, ABC7 Chicago Meteorologist Larry Mowry said an intense line of storms swept through the area during the midday hours. By 3:15 p.m. it had moved out of the area, but a cold front will still sweep through the area in the evening.

There is still potential for storms to the south and southwest in the evening.

The National Weather Service has most of the Chicago area under an enhanced risk for severe storms, which means numerous severe storms are possible.

Monday will be a warm day, with highs around 89. Tuesday will by sunny, breezy and cooler, with highs in the low 80s.