At least 3 tornadoes down trees and power lines, cause flooding and damage across south suburbs
Trees, trucks, power lines snarling traffic across Chicago area as rare derecho sweeps through
CHICAGO (WLS) -- At least three tornadoes hit the south suburbs Tuesday morning as a rare derecho swept across the area.
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And on Tuesday night, there is an overnight Level 2 risk for severe weather due possible storms that could redevelop around midnight and produce large to very large hail.
The National Weather Service said an EF1 tornado traveled from Monee to Crete and another EF1 traveled from Orland Park to Flossmoor on Tuesday.
A third tornado was confirmed in Will County around Mokena, the NWS said. The damage is consistent with an EF-1 tornado.
One person died in a weather-related house explosion in northwest Indiana.
Around 10:45 a.m., Chicago office workers were urged to take shelter. Tornado sirens were heard downtown.
At Oak Brook mall, shoppers were sent to the basement for shelter.
Torrential rain pounded the pavement in video out of Lansing, and strong winds ripped trees out of the ground.
"I came, I heard the thundering, and all of a sudden, we just saw the trees going back and forth. The wind was just going crazy," said Lansing resident Ashley Ellis.
Stretches of Lansing roads were left littered with toppled debris.
"This is the first insurance claim we've ever had," said resident Joy Broadwell.
The roof of Broadwell's home of 36 years was pierced by a tree that came crashing down on her roof while, she says, her daughter was home.
"She could hear water and things, so when it calmed down, that's when she came out to look," Broadwell said.
Other homeowners in Lansing are now dealing with damage caused by toppled trees.
"The tree was literally covering the whole house. There's branches inside the house," said resident Gerardo Miranda.
Meanwhile, the 183rd Street viaduct and the Dixie Highway viaduct in Homewood closed about 11:25 a.m. due to standing water.
Homewood residents are asked to limit unnecessary travel, as crews continue to assess storm damage and work to clear roadways throughout the community.
On Kedzie Avenue between 183rd Street and Flossmoor Road, traffic was restricted.
The storm caused some damage to the Homewood Flossmoor High School campus, where 250 students had to shelter with faculty. The power was also knocked out.
"Made sure everyone was inside space without glass, windows or skylights and as the leadership was together we took cover; we took it seriously," Homewood Flossmoor HS Superintendent Jennifer Norrell said.
Just south of the school, there was damage to a home.
A home on Baythorne Drive had roof damage and elsewhere in the development trees blocked driveways and power was out.
"These storms, I'm grateful for life. I'm grateful that everyone is OK, but this is devastating," resident Rachel Lyons said.
"I looked outside and I just saw green, and I immediately went into the basement stairway and just waited in the stairway," Baythorne Community Association President Barbara Meredith said.
Residents said it's especially challenging as they lost power for two days in another recent storm.
"My food, I had (to) throw away everything; now I don't shop like I used to. I have been very conscious of this," Meredith said.
On Interstate 55 at River Road in Wilmington, a semi rolled over, blocking the roadway.
A tree fell on I-55 in Braidwood, blocking some lanes.
The roof has been damaged at the Orland Park animal hospital, and the Tinley Park Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre was damaged.
The animal hospital said all pets are safe.
A nearby home had its roof damaged.
"I hear 'boom!' And then I go upstairs and it's like a tree fell down," Tinley Park resident Charles Shelton said. "I go look; I see chairs everywhere, trees everywhere. And afterwards I go look outside and I just see a roof fall apart."
"I had to go in the basement. We were down there for about 45 minutes," said Sonia Pogue, who was visiting Tinley Park from Chicago. "The lights kept flickering."
Trees were seen bending to the strong winds outside of a hotel near Harlem Avenue and 183rd Street right as the storm hit.
"Trees falling all on cars, like that, wind gusts blowing and stuff, branches and stuff all on the ground, we just had to get out of the way, because man, it was horrific," said Tyrone McGuire, who was visiting Tinley Park from Burnham. "What was going through my mind, through all that, was like, 'man, we're about to be on the 'Wizard of Oz.' We don't want to click our heels too many times. We'll be off the see the wizard.'"
Plainfield residents said the damage there is the worst in decades.
There are trees and parts of trees down all over Plainfield. The strong winds did quite a bit of damage.
Possibly the worst of it is at Susan Welch's home. Part of a huge tree came down in the storm right on top of her roof. Fortunately, no one was injured.
"It happened so fast," she said.
Part of a large tree split in Micaela Finlayson's backyard, falling onto the fence surrounding her pool.
She watched the storm coming in from the safety of her home and took video before finding shelter in the basement. Neighbors described the eerie sky as the storm came in.
"It was calm and then there was this eerie green sky," Finlayson said.
With power knocked out, businesses like Werk Force Brewing Co. have to shut down. They are still dealing with losses from a power outage in early July.
Plainfield has quite a history of serious tornadoes. A powerful storm in 1990 killed 29 people there.
Plainfield's mayor says this storm is the strongest one he's seen since that time, and it's really fortunate no one was killed or seriously injured. He took video of some of the damage at his property.
Downed power poles appeared to spark a small grass fire in Oswego.
The storms also caused extensive damage in the west suburbs.
Cleanup was underway on Gilbert Avenue in Downers Grove.
Crews were trying to clear large trees from properties.
Over half a million customers in the Chicago area are without power.
ComEd said Tuesday evening they hope to have 80% of customers back online by noon Thursday and 99% back online by 11 p.m. Saturday.
"Nearly 3,000 ComEd employees and contractors are in the field assessing damage, repairing equipment and restoring service as safely and quickly as possible. While crews and equipment, including poles, cable wire and transformers were pre-positioned ahead of the storm, damage across the region is extensive," said David Perez, ComEd's executive vice president and COO.
There was flash flooding along local highways as the storms moved through.
Lansing officials said nearly all ComEd customers there are without power.
If a tree is blocking a public street or sidewalk, residents are asked to email publicworksteam@villageoflansing.org.
SEE ALSO | Track power outages in your area with the ABC7 Chicago Power Outage Tracker
Downed power lines reportedly sparked a house fire in Frankfort.
Ground Stops lasted hours at O'Hare and Midway airports, but have lifted.
About 250 flights have been canceled at O'Hare.
As for the White Sox game, meteorologists say it should be welcomed with quiet weather conditions Tuesday night.
To see a live look at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago's McCook Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, click here.
Two tornadoes hit LaSalle County over the weekend.
The Chicago area has been hit hard by severe storms this summer.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved a disaster declaration for the severe storms and flooding that impacted six counties in northern Illinois from July 2-4, 2026.
The declaration allows homeowners, renters, businesses and certain nonprofit organizations to apply for low-interest disaster loans to help cover damage and losses not covered by insurance.
Kane County is among the counties included in the disaster declaration. Residents and businesses in contiguous counties - Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kendall and McHenry - are also eligible for SBA disaster assistance.
Two Disaster Loan Outreach Centers (DLOCs) have been established in Kane County to assist residents and businesses. SBA customer service representatives will be available at each center to answer questions, explain the application process and help applicants complete their applications. Walk-ins are welcome.
Prisco Center - (Aug. 10-22)
150 W. Illinois Ave., Aurora
9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday
Sunday: Closed
Elgin Township Building - (Aug. 17-Sept. 1)
729 S. McLean Blvd. Elgin
8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday
Sunday: Closed
Homeowners may apply for up to $500,000 in low-interest SBA disaster loans to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters may apply for up to $100,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.
Businesses and certain nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million for physical damages. Applicants may also qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help address financial losses resulting from the disaster.
For online applications, visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call the SBA Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. People who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability may dial 7-1-1 for relay services.
The deadline to submit SBA disaster loan applications for physical property damage is Oct. 10, 2026. The deadline for economic injury applications is May 5, 2027.
