severe weather

Chicago weather: More storms move through Chicago area, not as strong as past days

ByABC 7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo

Thursday, August 12, 2021

Woodstock braces for more storms after extensive damage

Four rounds of storms have rolled through areas like Woodstock, and with more possible overnight Wednesday into Thursday they just hope the damage can be contained.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- More storms moved through the Chicago area Wednesday night, but not as strong as in the past couple days.

Winds picked up around 9 p.m. in parts of the northwest suburbs. There are concerns more gusty winds could cause more problems with all the storm debris still on the ground.

For some suburbs this is the fourth round of stormy weather since Monday.

There is the risk for a few tornadoes, especially near the Wisconsin border, ABC7 meteorologist Phil Schwarz said. Any storms that develop will be capable of producing gusty winds, heavy rain and frequent lightning.

WATCH | DeKalb County tornado rips barn to pieces

A tornado that touched down in DeKalb County Monday ripped apart a barn near Esmond.

Much of northern Illinois and northwest Indiana is under an "enhanced" risk of severe weather - a level 3 out of 5 - according to the Storm Prediction Center.

A fast-moving complex of storms prompted severe thunderstorm watches and warnings as they raced through the Chicago area Wednesday morning.

Wind gusts as high as 62 mph were reported in Naperville and 68 mph in Plano about 10 a.m. There were over 100 flights canceled at O'Hare Airport, as well.

SEE MORE: Weather Chicago: Downed trees, damaged homes, cars, power outages after strong storms

Streets were littered with tree damage, and many branches ended up on houses, leaving neighbors shaken.

In Woodstock, the morning storms downed more trees and caused more power outages. People spent most of the day working quickly to try to clear debris ahead of another potentially turbulent night.

"Everybody has been pretty proactive in getting their stuff picked up. I was not aware that there was another storm coming in until just a few minutes ago, so it's a good thing that a lot of this was already taken care of. And I think that there's damage to the trees already that we're just not seeing yet, so we'll see what happens after tonight," said Woodstock resident Meredith Stenhoff.

Sandwich Mayor Todd Latham said there were numerous trees down throughout the city after the storm blew through Wednesday morning. City officials were also checking on reports of damaged homes, but there were no reported injuries.

In Mendota, a city official said many trees and power lines were knocked down, but there didn't appear to be damage to any homes, and no injuries were reported. Much of the city is without power, however.