Dangerous heat and humidity coming after Monday storms cause damage in suburbs
Storms set off tornado sirens and downed trees and power lines in the suburbs Monday evening.
The National Weather Service first issued a tornado warning at about 6 p.m. for northeastern Kane County and northwest Cook County, then later around 7 p.m. for DuPage County, after it said a severe thunderstorm over West Dundee or Carpentersville was capable of producing a tornado because of cloud rotation. But no tornado touchdowns have been reported.
The storm was near the Barrington area and East Dundee, as well as Streamwood, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Hanover Park, Roselle, Schaumburg and Palatine. It expanded into some DuPage County towns, with rotating clouds over Itasca and Medinah, ABC 7 reported.
Residents reported fallen trees and other damage in Schaumburg, Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights and Roselle.
In Algonquin, a lightning strike started a house fire.
Firefighters responded just before 6 p.m. to the 600 block of Chelsea Drive, according to the Algonquin Fire Department. Authorities said the department received 911 calls from the building's occupants, who fled to a neighboring residence. No one was injured.
The lightning burned a hole through the home's siding and caused a fire in the attic. The lightning also damaged a nearby tree. Authorities estimated the damage at $100,000 and said the home is uninhabitable.
One of the oldest trees in Roselle gave way to the sudden strong winds, ABC 7 Chicago reported. But the direction of the tree's fall spared the mayor's own home.
"I was at village hall, got a lot of calls from my wife," Mayor David Pileski said. "She was in our basement with our 1-year-old. We're just grateful it fell away from the house."
A spontaneous clean-up crew emerged to help as soon as it was safe to step outside.
"I live two houses down, that's what neighbors do," Joe Kightlinger said. "Roselle, they take care of each other."
The Metra UP-Northwest line was suspended as the storm passed through, according to tweets from Metra. The weather service reported gusts up to 84 mph at O'Hare International Airport, and 69 mph at Midway International Airport.
All arriving and departing flights ground to a halt at O'Hare, ABC 7 reported, and throngs of people looking for shelter scrambled to the airport's lowest level.
The high winds flipped over several planes at Schaumburg Regional Airport. And a single lightning strike ignited a fire at a Northbrook home.
The city of Elgin tweeted that the storm remained "mostly north of Elgin," and that the city was responding to calls for downed wires and assessing any other damage.
As of 10 p.m., ComEd reported over 33,000 are without power due to the storms, down from a height of 88,000.
Parts of the Chicago area could see temperatures above 100 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday, combining with high humidity levels to create dangerous heat indexes. A heat advisory is in effect for the region until 8 p.m. Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the forecast called for temperatures in the upper 90s with heat indexes reaching as high as 105 degrees.
The high temperatures linger into Wednesday with an evening storm expected to bring cooler air into the area for the remainder of the week and into the weekend.
The hottest June 15 on record happened in 1994 when temperatures climbed to 95 degrees at O'Hare International Airport. Forecasts suggest Wednesday's high could break that record.
While temperatures are expected to reach the mid-90s Thursday, meteorologists say the area will get a break from the "oppressive humidity" of the previous days.
• Daily Herald staff writer Jake Griffin and correspondent Jonah Nink contributed to this report.