Strong storm blows through Chicago area, leaves behind damage

CHICAGO - A powerful storm blew through the Chicago area Tuesday night, toppling trees, destroying roofs and knocking out power.

The wicked wind from the storm packed a powerful punch, especially in suburban Winnebago, delivering 73 mile-per-hour winds recorded by officials in Winnebago County.

“I was sitting at my table working. I heard glass breaking and ran to the basement, grabbed my dog. I heard the glass breaking from that upper attic window,” said resident April Haeflinger.

At one point, over 11,000 ComEd customers were in the dark.

In Crystal Lake, the powerful winds ripped off parts of a roof. Other areas saw plenty of rain, from Winthrop Harbor to Geneva and even in downtown Chicago.

The severe thunderstorm brought with it extreme winds, bringing down the roof of an abandoned building on 108th and South Michigan.

A wind gust of 79 mph was reported in the afternoon at Aurora Municipal Airport, the weather service said in a tweet.

The last time there was a storm like this in November was November 17, 2013.

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The Chicago area was under a Tornado Watch until 8 p.m. Tuesday night. The storms were part of a cold front that will end a record-breaking seven straight days of 70-degree November weather, blowing past the previous five-straight days of similar weather in 1953.

When the storms pass, Chicago residents could wake up Wednesday to a windchill in the 20s, according to the National Weather Service. Wednesday’s high is forecast near 50 degrees.

Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.