Wind advisory remains in effect, but most power lines spared
While ComEd planned for major outages Wednesday due to high winds, most power lines held up.
As of about 8 a.m. only 1,600 customers remained without power in Illinois due to the high winds, with the majority of those in Chicago, a ComEd spokesman said early Thursday.
The National Weather Service issued high wind warnings for Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane and McHenry counties beginning at 3 p.m. Wednesday until 10 a.m. today.
Wind gusts are expected to intensify overnight and reach speeds up to 60 mph, according to the weather service. A 58 mph gust was recorded in Waukegan at 7 p.m. and gusts of over 60 mph were recorded in Chicago, according to the weather service.
Temperatures are at about 50 degrees, but with sustained winds of 30 mph, the temperature will feel much lower, according to meteorologists.
Strong winds stirred up massive waves in Lake Michigan Wednesday, forcing officials to shut down some areas along the lakefront, and the gusts led the Indiana Toll Road to ban certain long trucks in northwest Indiana through noon today.
The Journal Gazette reported says the ban affects triple-trailer trucks and long doubles on the westernmost 72 miles of the 157-mile highway. That's the stretch between the South Bend West Toll Plaza and the WestPoint Toll Plaza.