Lake County Tornado Warning Chicago lasts until 10 p.m. Wednesday
A tornado warning chicago area readers needed to watch was in effect for Lake County, Illinois, until 10 p.m. Wednesday as severe weather moved through the region. The same weather system put the rest of the Chicago area under a Flood Watch until 9 p.m. Wednesday.
The warning came during the part of the day ABC7 AccuWeather meteorologists said carried the highest risk, with the 2-6 p.m. window carrying high winds up to 70 mph and isolated tornadoes. They said a few storms were still expected in the area from 6-10 p.m.
Lake County and nearby counties
Lake County was not the only area under a weather alert Wednesday evening. Parts of central Illinois were under a Tornado Watch, parts of southern Wisconsin later had a Tornado Warning, and parts of Kankakee, Kendall and Will counties and northwest Indiana were under a Level 3 risk for severe weather.
The rest of the Chicago area was under a Level 2 risk, putting most of the region in a lower category than the counties closest to the strongest storm threat. Illinois State University closed early at 2 p.m. because of the chance for severe weather.
O'Hare and Midway delays
Air travel took a direct hit as the storms moved through. A Ground Delay was in effect at O'Hare Airport, over 200 flights were canceled there, and delays were about 90 minutes.
Nearly 100 flights were canceled at Midway airport. In the north suburbs, video showed trees on top of cars amid high wind gusts, while a train was knocked off its tracks after strong storms blew through Monmouth, Illinois, on Wednesday morning.
Chicago Heights flooding
Flooding remained a problem after water had gone by Wednesday evening in the south suburbs. Ashley Saxon, a Chicago Heights resident, said her basement flooded again after storms rolled through Wednesday: "Again, this has happened multiple times".
For residents in Lake County and across the Chicago area, the immediate step was simple: keep tracking warnings, watch for flooding on roads and around homes, and expect more storms during the evening window the meteorologists singled out.
