Chicago weather: Strong storms bring heavy rain, high winds, damage to parts of area
White Sox, Cubs games rescheduled
CHICAGO (WLS) -- An AccuWeather Alert was in effect Wednesday for strong storms in the forecast.
Storms moved through the area throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
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A Tornado Watch was issued for parts of the Chicago area Wednesday, especially in Northwest Indiana, but has since expired.
A Flash Flood Warning was in effect for parts of the area, but has since expired. The National Weather Service had issued a Flood Watch for Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kankakee, Kendall, La Salle and Will counties until 8 p.m.
Showers and thunderstorms were off and on throughout the afternoon. ABC7 Chicago meteorologists said the main threats were high winds and hail.
The Storm Prediction Center had much of the area at a Level 2 risk for severe storms, with some areas in the northwestern part of the area under a Level 1 risk and Northwest Indiana and some far south suburban areas under a Level 3 risk.
While the storm was fast-moving, it left trees and power lines scattered across parts of Northwest Indiana. People then came outside of their homes to see the mess with a task ahead of them.
"It was like a hurricane, really severe wind," Kouts, Indiana resident Daniel Brunicon said.
The storm left trees severed and power poles snapped in pieces.
"It was awful. The hardest winds I've ever seen," Kouts, Indiana resident Les Young said.
Ominous clouds moved through parts of Northwest Indiana, turning some areas into debris fields of torn-apart wood.
"A whole lot of trees came down. Took the top right off of that one, over there, too," Brunicon said.
Like much of Northwest Indiana, people in Kouts were part of a Level 3 risk for severe storms that brought strong winds and hail.
"I got the most damage, right here. I can't get my car out," Young said.
Power lines were left tangled along State Road 10 in Stoutsburg.
The work to clean up will hopefully be just as quick as the storms were.
"It was the worst storm we've seen here in quite some time," Brunicon said.
ABC7 didn't see any extensive damage in Northwest Indiana. That was a relief for people living there who said they're also thankful there were no reports of any injuries.
Temperatures were slightly cooler than Tuesday across the Chicago area, but humidity remained high.
Storms caused arrival delays of nearly two hours at O'Hare airport. Over 80 flights were canceled.
There was a ground stop for departures to Midway airport due to thunderstorms, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It has since expired. At least a dozen flights were canceled at Midway, with delays of about 20 minutes.
The White Sox-Cardinals game Wednesday night has been rescheduled to a double-header Thursday. The Cubs-Brewers game has been postponed to Aug. 18.
Nearly 14,500 NIPSCO customers in Indiana were without power as of Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
The area will dry out on Thursday, and temperatures will become very hot, climbing into the mid-to-upper 90s heading into the weekend.
The heat index is expected to be above 100 degrees on Sunday and Monday.
