CHICAGO — Chicagoland residents are assessing the damage and cleaning up Tuesday morning after powerful storms ripped through the area Monday night.
WGN photographer Tremaine Williams captured drone footage showing significant damage in southwest suburban Shorewood left in the wake of the powerful storms. Check out the video attached to this story to see Williams’ drone footage.
A 44-year-old woman was killed in Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana after a large part of a tree fell onto her home. See the video below for more:
Many downed trees were scattered and homes damaged throughout Chicagoland, leaving thousands without power and some major roads closed due to debris or downed power lines.
Here’s a look at Monday’s storms and the damage they left behind:
7 observed tornadoes
The National Weather Service issued 13 tornado warnings in Chicagoland on Monday night.
The NWS reported seven tornadoes were observed Monday night around the following locations: Sugar Grove, Oswego, Manhattan and Joliet in south/southwest suburban Chicagoland; possibly two at Midway International Airport and one at O’Hare International Airport; and Crown Point in Northwest Indiana.
As of Tuesday morning, however, the NWS had not officially confirmed any tornadoes. But it said it has six survey teams on the ground already and will be surveying 29 potential storm damage paths in the coming days to determine whether damage was caused by straight-line winds or tornadoes.
The NWS says this could take multiple days, and updates will be provided via its social media feeds on X and on Facebook.
This all comes after the NWS confirmed that three EF-0 tornadoes touched down in Chicago on Sunday night during that round of storms.
If you’re wondering how the NWS confirms tornado touchdowns, check out this breakdown from WGN’s Morgan Kolkmeyer in the video below:
Major damage in Shorewood
While a tornado touchdown had not been confirmed as of early Tuesday morning in southwest suburban Shorewood, the damage left behind was significant.
Residents on Canterbury Lane got a better look at the extent of it once the sun came up Tuesday, revealing multiple trees down and several homes damaged.
One roof was torn off and a tree remained on top of another, as neighbors used chainsaws to clear the roads before crews could come in with heavy equipment.
Neighbors told WGN the storm that tore through Shorewood was loud and fast.
“There was very little reaction time,” resident Tom Petrizzo said. “We had, like, seconds to get into that crawl (space).”
Added resident Angie Petrizzo: “It was loud. It sounded almost like a train coming. It was very loud.”
“Kind of a scary situation,” said another resident, Don Bersano. “It was not a good situation at the time, and it just came through so quick.”
One neighbor reported that a tree went through the roof of one home and sent a person to the hospital. Otherwise, it appeared early Tuesday morning that the residents of hard-hit Canterbury Lane in Shorewood were safe.
“We’re all safe,” resident Jerry Lockwood said. “Thank God, we’re all safe. That’s all that matters.”
See the video below for more on the damage in Shorewood:
Oswego tornado
In west suburban Oswego, where the NWS did confirm a tornado touchdown, residents woke up Tuesday morning to major storm damage. That included trees ripped from ground, subsequently falling on houses and vehicles and blocking roadways.
Oswego resident Carol Gillette described what it was like.
“I went in the house, heard this great big crash, like a bomb went off,” she said. “I yelled at my dog to get on the floor. Glass was breaking from the trees falling all over. And then, 15 minutes later, 10 minutes later, it was over.
“And then no power, and we’ve got this mess.”
See the video below for more:
The Village of Oswego is advising residents to report all damage to the village’s My 3-1-1 app, or on the village website.
Power outages
As of about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, ComEd was reporting 4,717 active outages affecting 205,783 customers in Chicagoland.
ComEd updates its outage map, which can be viewed HERE, approximately every 15 minutes.
ComEd says it expects to have 80% of outages restored by Wednesday afternoon and the rest by Friday. It also says it will prioritize returning power to critical facilities, such as police and fire stations, nursing homes and hospitals, before moving on to areas with the greatest number of customers.
ComEd was scheduled to provide an update Tuesday morning on its efforts to restore power. Click HERE for more on that.
NIPSCO in Northwest Indiana, meanwhile, reported 99,000 customers affected as of 5 a.m. Tuesday, saying the communities impacted most include Chesterton, Crown Point, East Chicago, Gary, Goshen, Griffith, Hammond, La Porte, Portage and Valparaiso.
NIPSCO says its next outage update will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Visit nipsco.com for updates.
Traffic
Downed power lines have closed I-55 in both directions Tuesday morning near Channahon in far southwest Chicagoland.
The Channahon Police Department says the closure is between U.S. Route 6 and Lorenzo Road, and frontage roads are impacted as well. Traffic may enter northbound I-55 from Rt. 6 and Bluff Road.
More damage updates, videos
One WGN viewer captured a dashcam video Monday night, showing swirling debris on I-290 from a possible tornado near the Damen Avenue exit.
Check out the video below:
In Joliet, police reported power lines down throughout the city, with many roadways partially or completely blocked.
Police say the most severe damage appears to be in the central part of Joliet, from Essington Road east to the Des Plaines River, and numerous residents were without power as of Tuesday morning.
In DeKalb County, a downed power line sparked a fire in Genoa, about 25 miles northwest of Elgin, and powerful winds also knocked down or split large trees, causing property damage throughout the area.
High winds uprooted multiple trees and tore off a roof in Crestwood, about 25 miles south of Chicago, in Cook County.
Also in suburban Cook County, just northwest of Chicago, powerful winds split trees in Norridge. Some were uprooted and fell on or near homes.
See the videos below:
Quiet weather coming
After all the storm damage and severe weather between Sunday and Monday nights — in addition to the significant rainfall that’s come down on the area over the course of several recent systems — Chicagoland needs a break.
And it’s getting one.
Starting Tuesday, cooler, drier air will descend on the area, leading to a quiet weather pattern for at least the next several days.
See more in the Tuesday morning forecast.