Severe storms down trees, create floods in suburbs

The severe thunderstorm watch originally scheduled to last until 8 p.m. was canceled early as the storms moved out of the suburbs, but not before they did damage in some parts of the area.

A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect during the late afternoon for DuPage, Will and parts of Kane and Cook counties. Heavy rain was seen in DuPage County and the Fox Valley, and North Shore suburbs were hard hit.

High winds tore off a portion of the parking garage roof at Northshore Evanston Hospital, according to a statement from Northshore University HealthSystem. No injuries were reported. The hospital also dealt with minor flooding, according to the statement.

Heavy flooding was reported in Crystal Lake, where at least one vehicle was submerged in a parking lot near Route 176 and Terra Cotta, ABC 7 Chicago reported. Drivers were urged to avoid the intersections of Route 176 near the Metra train viaduct and Keith Avenue near Virginia Street/Route 14. Those intersections were reopened by 7 p.m.

A large tree fell on a home in Long Lake at 3:13 p.m., causing about $25,000 of damage and displacing the family who lived there, according to Fox Lake Fire Batallion Chief Brent Connelly. No one was inside the home at the time, and no injuries were reported. The tree remained on the roof of the two-story home Wednesday evening, until ComEd was available to respond, Connelly said.

Trained weather spotters reported quarter-size hail in Buffalo Grove, ABC 7 said.

Hundreds of flights at Chicago's airports were canceled or delayed. More than 400 flights had been canceled as of about 8:15 p.m. at O'Hare International Airport, where the average delay is about an hour. Midway reported 20 cancellations and delays averaging 90 minutes.

At least 30,000 customers across the area were without power Wednesday evening, ComEd said.

The weather service overall issued a hazardous weather outlook warning of an elevated thunderstorm risk over the next few days. It says there's also a limited tornado risk, and elevated risk of hail up to the size of a half dollar, elevated risk of winds up to 65 mph, and elevated flooding risk.

The risk of storms continues the rest of the week and through the weekend, and Tuesday, the service says.