Severe thunderstorms pass through Chicago area, force ground stops at O'Hare, Midway
CHICAGO - Severe thunderstorm warnings are in effect across the Chicago area Tuesday morning with reports of hail, gusty winds and torrential downpours.
Ground stops were ordered at O'Hare Airport until 8:45 a.m. due to thunderstorms with a ground delay in effect until 3:29 p.m. Average delays are at 108 minutes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. A ground stop was also issued at Midway Airport until 9:15 a.m.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was in effect for parts of Cook and Lake counties until 7:30 a.m. The National Weather Service listed Elgin, Arlington Heights, Evanston under the warning. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for parts of Will County including Bolingbrook, Orland Park and Tinley Park until 8 a.m.
The same thunderstorm warning was issued for DuPage and Kane counties until 7:45 a.m. and for DeKalb County until 7:15 a.m.
The following Illinois counties are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 11 a.m.: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Will, Kane, Kendall, Lake and McHenry. Indiana counties such as Lake, Newton, Porter and Jasper are under the same storm watch.
The National Weather Service reported pea-sized hail and wind gusts of up to 55 mph in the greater Chicago area. As of 7:30 a.m., ComEd reported roughly 5,000 power outages in the Chicago area.
Storms flared up Monday night almost at random with some hail and heavy downpours.
As of 3 a.m., a cluster of strong storms responsible for flooding rains over parts of Kendall and Will counties drifted through our southernmost counties. An additional storm with hail came to life over McHenry County but ran out of gas moving into Lake County.
There is a massive complex of storms over northern Wisconsin which has prompted a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for parts of Wisconsin and western Michigan. It remains to be seen whether the western flank of those storms can move into our area later this morning. I have my doubts about that scenario. What is appearing more likely is that a new line of storms will pop up later this morning, perhaps after 10 a.m. in Chicagoland. Some could be strong-or-severe with hail, damaging winds and torrential downpours possible.
The risk of showers and storms continues tonight and tomorrow morning. In between all of this action, it will be very warm and humid today with highs not far from 90 degrees. Tomorrow will be mild after any morning storms with highs not far from 80 degrees either way.