Storms sweep through central Illinois this morning
A strong line of thunderstorms swept through central Illinois early this morning after a violent weather night in northern Illinois.
Thousands are left without power after strong thunderstorms moved through central Illinois early this morning.
According to Ameren’s website, most of the outages are concentrated in the 61604, 61605, 61606, 61614 and 61615 area codes of Peoria.
As of 8 a..m. there were no severe weather watches issued for the Journal Star area, but forecasters say there is a threat of more thunderstorms throughout the day,.
Meanwhile, the powerful storm that swept across northern Illinois left behind downed trees, damaged buildings, flooded streets and thousands of people without electrical power.
The storm late Monday also prompted tornado warnings in downtown Chicago and caused the evacuation of fans from the stands at Chicago’s Wrigley Field and travelers from the upper levels of terminals at O’Hare International Airport.
The National Weather Service did not immediately confirm any tornado touchdowns. But it said trained spotters reported high-rotation winds in DeKalb and Kane counties in northeastern Illinois, where widespread tree and power line damage was reported.
In St. Charles, winds damaged the roof of St. Charles North High School, which led to water damage. A youth baseball group was in the building when the storm struck. Members of the group were safely evacuated by the local fire department, according to School District 303 Superintendent Don Schlomann.
Authorities reported lightning and downed power lines may have sparked fires in Chicago, Hillside and unincorporated Downers Grove. Strong winds ripped the roofs from a Hillside commercial building and at least a half-dozen homes in the Hickory Oaks subdivision in Bolingbrook.
Passengers at O’Hare International Airport were evacuated into the lower levels of the complex’s buildings. All flights were temporarily halted, and travelers who had already boarded airplanes were taken off as the storm struck, then led to the lower levels as a precaution.
“It was pretty cramped down there, the whole terminal was down there,” said George Wickens, 50, of London, who was trying to travel to Florida with his family.
The storms did not cause any damage or injuries at O’Hare or Midway Airport, said Department of Aviation spokesman Gregg Cunningham.
More than 350 flights were canceled at O’Hare. All flights that resumed at O’Hare averaged an hour or more, Cunningham said. At Midway, delays averaged 90 minutes, with some cancellations reported.
ComEd spokeswoman Pam Anton said that as of 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, 225,000 ComEd customers were without power. There were 270 crews working to restore power. However, because of the number of downed lines, it will be several days before power is completely restored, she said.
The fast-moving storms caught many Chicagoans by surprise.
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Kristin Febor, 21 of Chicago watched the rain approach from the roof of the Marina Towers high-rise downtown along with friends.
“The wind picked up and in probably five seconds it blew (my friend) into her husband,” she said. “He grabbed her and pulled her inside and we all ran down the stairs. It was like dead still and then within five seconds, ten seconds we were all blown away.”
Warning sirens sent pedestrians scrambling into high-rises and train stations for shelter.
Security guards at the Ogilvie Train Station, just off the Chicago River, ushered people streaming inside away from large glass windows and into the middle of the building.
“The lightning between the buildings was looking ominous,” said Michaela Nelson, 58-year-old singer from Barrington, brushing her dripping-wet hair at the station. “And then it just poured.”
The Cubs weren’t the only sports team affected by the storm. Lightning cut short the Bears morning special teams practice in Bourbonnais, then the tornado warning for Kankakee County ended their night practice after only an hour.
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saturday, august 16, 2008arsenal started their barclays prime league campaign with a win over west bromwich. they won 1-0 in the chief betrothal of 2008/09 premiership season.the winner was scored by their $28 million restored signing this season, samir nasri. the french midfielder turned a final cut-back back pass from denilson to object after four minutes of play.there are six more matches to be played today and three tomorrow (which register matches of manchester united and chelsea.) the champions will open their bid for third continuous title at knowledgeable trafford against newcastle united.
