Cleanup crews continue in wake of severe storm

Chippers remained active Tuesday in Libertyville, four days after a storm toppled power lines and ripped branches from trees throughout town.

"We're still in storm pick-up mode," said James Zych, director of parks and recreation. "I ask people once again to be patient."

Crews from Lincolnshire, Mount Prospect and Vernon Hills have been helping, but it could take until the end of the week to have all the debris cleared, he added.

In another hard hit community, cleanup also continued in Grayslake. That is expected to wrap up today.

Libertyville appeared to have been the bull's-eye late Friday morning, when a low pressure system developed to the north and west of a line of severe storms. Winds are created as the pressure tries to equalize.

"It's actually what's called a wake effect low pressure," said Kent McKenzie, head of the Lake County Emergency Management Agency. "It's an unusual phenomenon. It's something I hadn't heard of."

The result was a battering ram of wind for more than a half-hour, with gusts up to 65 mph. Libertyville, Round Lake Park, Grayslake and Waukegan were hit hard.

"We got about 30 minutes notice based on what the (National) weather service saw in Rockford," McKenzie said.

About 69,000 ComEd customers in Northern Illinois were left without power. Route 137 in Libertyville was closed west of the Tri-State Tollway because of trees on the pavement. The damage was evenly spread throughout the village, although some utility poles were broken just north of downtown.

"It was kind of a weird occurrence. We didn't get much rain, we didn't get any hail, we just got the wind," Zych said. "We lost at least three or four healthy trees in Adler Park."

Even as the storm continued, managers from various Libertyville departments met to plan strategy and notify residents.