Chicago, IL weather forecast: More severe thunderstorms expected Thursday with tornado risk; Tornado Watch for area | Radar - News Beep

CHICAGO (WLS) — After strong thunderstorms moved through the Chicago area Wednesday, toppling trees and causing power outages, another round of storms is forecast for Thursday.

The Storm Prediction Center has much of the area under a Level 4 Risk for severe weather. Northwest Indiana and parts of Kankakee County are under a Level 3 risk.

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There is a

Tornado Watch

for Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, LaSalle, Lake, McHenry and Will counties in Illinois and Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton and Porter counties in Indiana and Kenosha, Walworth and Racine counties in Wisconsin until 9 p.m.

There is a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Kankakee and Will counties in Illinois and Lake and Newton counties in Indiana until 3:15 p.m.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., isolated storms could produce strong winds ABC7 Chicago meteorologist Tracy Butler said.

There is a ground stop at Midway airport. Delays there are about 20 minutes, with over 30 cancellations.

Nearly 500 flights have been canceled at O’Hare airport, with delays of nearly 90 minutes.

The main severe weather threat will come from 4 to 10 p.m., with strong winds, large hail and a threat of tornadoes, Butler said. More than an inch of additional rain is also possible, Butler said.

TIMELAPSE:

A timelapse video shows severe storms blow through the Chicago area.

Thursday’s stormy forecast comes after thunderstorms caused significant damage across the area Wednesday.

As of 10:48 a.m., 158,324 ComEd customers were impacted by power outages. ComEd said more than 400,000 were impacted by power outages.

A power outage has led to the temporary closure of the Markham Courthouse. All criminal cases scheduled for initial appearance and electronic monitoring violations of conditions of release will be heard at the Fifth Municipal District Courthouse in Bridgeview. All other matters will be continued until a later date.

The Cook County Circuit Court has also ordered all cases at 727 E. 111th St. in Chicago to be continued due to a power outage.

Peoples Gas said a tree blew over and ripped up part of a gas main near the area of 81st Street and Kingston Avenue.

Part of the gas main ended up on the street. Water pipes were damaged as well and water got into the gas system.

About 250 customers were impacted, Peoples Gas said.

I-TEAM WARNING | Be aware of storm repair fraud

The storms led to an obstruction on the CTA Yellow Line tracks, suspending service Thursday morning. Service resumed shortly before 8 a.m.

As of 6 a.m., the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications said they responded to six flooded viaducts, 214 calls of water on the street, 47 calls of water in basements, 323 traffic signal outages, 4,114 tree emergencies, 1,496 debris and 188 calls of wires down.

Southwest suburban Stickney was among the hardest hit areas with storm damage Thursday morning.

Many communities are cleaning up from Wednesday’s damaging weather.

Restoration crews had their hands full as they work to protect a condo building whose roof was partially peeled off.

Workers could be seen on the roof Thursday morning, as they cleared debris and loose bricks.

“Well additional water damage inside the units is one concern, but I think an additional concern that we have is that tarps are not permanent you know roofing material and the tarps can ger blown over, which may cause an additional hazard,” Stickney Village Building Inspector Josh Brniak said.

One of two condo buildings is uninhabitable. Approximately 30 people are without a home at the Ridgewood Condominiums.

It could be weeks until people will be allowed to safely return.

“So obviously the building can be fixed, but luckily we didn’t lose anybody yesterday,” said Jasmine Scott, resident and association president.

Village officials say they are also dealing with power outages at their main facilities, including the police and fire department and public works department. Some of them are on generators.

The gusting winds uprooted a massive tree which crushed several vehicles.

There was damage on Chicago’s Northwest Side. A large tree snapped and blocked a road.

The storms also left a trail of destruction in McKinley Park.

Crews chopped up a large tree that smashed parked cars.

City crews brought saws and heavy machinery to break up a massive tree that was uprooted in McKinley Park following strong winds. Parked cars were left smashed on 34th Street and Paulina Avenue.

Santiago Pulido’s car was totaled. He said he’s lucky he wasn’t in his car when the tree came crashing down near 34th Street and Paulina Avenue.

Pulido said this has left him without his only means of transportation to and from work.

“I feel, I feel, I feel very, very, very, very sad,” Pulido said. “I go into my house when I hear the tree, they fall – boom … and then I come back and I see my car, ‘Oh my goodness! Oh no this is not good. My car is broken on the street.'”

Others who live on the block weren’t spared.

Just a few houses down from where the tree crushed the cars, a woman came home to find another tree on the same block had crashed into her and her neighbor’s home – taking out several windows and damaging the house.

Some neighbors said before the storm, they had expressed concerns about overgrown trees and clogged drains.

Meanwhile, Pulido is hoping for some help. He said he doesn’t have the money to buy another one.

A tree landed on a house in Dolton. The tree uprooted from the ground before crashing down on a home, caving in the roof with rain water left gushing inside during the storm.

The tree fell at 152nd Street and King Drive. No one was hurt.

The homeowner, Jamila Bynum, says her family has lived in the home for more than 20 years. And for the past two years, she says her family complained to the village about the tree, saying it was dead.

She told ABC7 she came home early from work because of the thunderstorm. And though she heard a noise, she didn’t yet know a tree had actually fallen on her house.

To her surprise, another tree happened to fall onto Bynum’s neighbor’s home just up the street. No one was home at the time.

As for Bynum’s home, firefighters did come out to look at the damage, while she says she’s deciding on whether to stay there or stay with relatives until repairs are made.

Chicago, IL weather forecast: More severe thunderstorms expected Thursday with tornado risk; Tornado Watch for area | Radar

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