Wind advisory continues until tonight

The Chicago area remains under a wind advisory through 6 p.m. Thursday, officials said.

Officials from the National Weather Service said sustained westerly winds of 25 mph to 35 mph will linger throughout the day, with wind gusts reaching about 50 mph.

Driving may be difficult due to the wind gusts, officials said, especially for high profile vehicles like large trucks and construction equipment. The winds can cause minor property damage, officials said.

O'Hare International Airport was reporting delays of about 30 minutes Thursday due to the winds, Flightstats.com is reporting. Delays of about 15 minutes are being reported at Midway Airport, Flightstats is reporting.

High winds forced Chicago Police to shut down the Skyway between 91st and 106th streets. The closure was due to debris on the ground.

Scattered outages are still being reported across the area by ComEd. The areas affected include Lake Barrington, Elgin and South Elgin.

Motorists are urged to avoid Route 31 between I-88 and Airport Road in South Elgin due to a leaning utility pole that is threatening to fall. Two lanes have been shut down while ComEd fixes the problem, officials said.

Around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday all other storm watches and warnings had expired or been canceled although thunder, lightning, wind and heavy rain caused problems for many throughout the night.

Several homes were reportedly struck by lightning and dozens of fire departments were working to put out a house fire in McHenry. It is unclear if anyone was injured or if lightning was the cause of the fire.

Barrington homeowner David Silver told ABC-7 his home was hit by lightning during the storm, traveled through the gutters and blew out part of his garage wall.