Storms that prompted multiple tornado warnings swept through Iowa, Illinois (including Chicago) and Indiana on Monday, toppling trees and power poles and knocking out power to more than 460,000 customers and businesses. One woman in Indiana died after a tree fell on a home, authorities said.
The 44-year-old woman died Monday night in Cedar Lake, Indiana, the Lake County Coroner’s Office said.
There were some reports of tornadoes, but it was the winds in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana that were the main concern, said Roger Edwards, senior forecaster at the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center.
There were numerous wind gusts in the range of 75 mph (120 kph) to 90 mph (145 kph) and one report of a 101 mph (162 kph) wind gust in Ogle County, Illinois, Edwards said.
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado hit Des Moines, Iowa, as storms moved through Monday afternoon into the evening. Des Moines police were responding to calls about utility poles that had apparently snapped in two.
The storms then moved eastward into northern Illinois, including the Chicago area, which was under multiple tornado warnings, wind and torrential rain warnings. Multiple tornadoes were reported along the line of storms that moved through the city, according to the National Weather Service, which planned to survey several areas after the reports.
Nearly 390,000 customers were without power in northern Illinois alone, according to poweroutage.us.
“There are numerous reports of downed power lines throughout the city as a result of this afternoon’s storm,” the Joliet, Illinois, police department posted online Monday night. “Many roads are fully or partially blocked by trees or tree limbs.” The city is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.
Chicago’s National Weather Service had to take cover for a time and later reported extensive damage in the city. The agency reported wind speeds in the region of up to 120 kph (75 mph).
A flash flood warning was also issued for the Chicago area through early Tuesday. As of Tuesday morning, no major flood damage had been reported.
Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport reported 81 flight cancellations as of Tuesday morning and Midway International Airport reported eight cancellations.
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