Severe thunderstorms bring rain, high winds to Chicago area

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two lines of severe thunderstorms raced towards the Chicago area Monday evening, bringing torrential rains and damaging straight-line winds. A second line of severe storms prompted tornado warnings in Illinois and northwest Indiana as it moved into Chicago area around 10 p.m. Radar indicated rotation within the squall line, but no touchdowns were reported as of 11:15 p.m. Monday night.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch was extended for the entire Chicago area until 3 a.m. Tuesday, though the risk of severe storms will be over well before then, ABC7 meteorologist Mike Caplan said.

TRACK THE STORM: Click the Interactive Radar Map at right

The first line of storms hit the Chicago area between 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Monday night, while another line of severe storms raced in behind them. A well-defined bow echo raced through northwest Illinois around 5 p.m., where winds gusted to 58 MPH near Belvidere and tree damage was reported in the Rockford area, Caplan said.

Many areas in suburban Chicago reported wind gusts in excess of 50 MPH, and an official observer at Midway Airport reported 1.18" of rain in 13 minutes. Tornado sirens blared Monday evening in west suburban Aurora after a possible funnel cloud was spotted, but no damage was reported.

"It was a lot of wind, a lot of noise. The sirens just made it seem crazier," said Cesar Sota, Aurora resident.

At the height of the storm, a west suburban house caught fire. The cause is still being investigated, but there was active lightning at the time. Firefighters rescued a man from the top-floor apartment- a tough job made more difficult by the weather.

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"At one point we had to, after the fire was out, I had to get firefighters inside for shelter, for cover, because sirens were going off and there was a report of a funnel cloud on the west side of town," said Battalion Chief Mark Robinson, Aurora Fire Dept.

A ground stop was in effect for arriving flights at O'Hare, and airlines there canceled 450 flights on Monday. Southwest Airlines canceled all incoming flights at Midway Airport between 6 and 8 p.m. Monday evening due to the impending storms.

ComEd increased its staffing and opened its emergency operations center Monday afternoon in advance of the severe weather. As of 8:30 p.m. Monday, ComEd reported 66,000 customers without power.

ComEd urges customers to contact the utility immediately if they are experiencing a power outage. Customers can text OUT to 26633 (COMED) to report their outage and receive restoration information.