Tag Archives: Severe Thunderstorms

Thunderstorms batter Chicago area, leave thousands in the dark

(Reuters) -Severe thunderstorms tore through the Chicago area on Sunday night after the National Weather Service said a “confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado” had touched down in a western suburb of the city, causing damage.

Chicago-area utility Commonwealth Edison’s (ComEd) website showed that more than 22,000 customers were without power as the thunderstorms swept through the region, near Lake Michigan in the north of the U.S. state of Illinois.

The tornado touched down near Route 53/75th Street in Woodridge, DuPage County, around 11 p.m. ET on Sunday. About a dozen homes were damaged, and four people were rushed to area hospitals with minor injuries, CBS Chicago reported.

A CBS Chicago reporter tweeted that six people were injured in total and some residents were evacuated to nearby shelters. The news outlet added that there were no fires, but there were lots of gas breaches.

Fire Chief Mark Puknaitis said that anyone who was displaced from their homes could go to Ranchview Elementary School, which was designated as a place of shelter, according to CBS Chicago.

The website of ComEd, a unit of Exelon Corp, showed about 12,000 customers were without power in DuPage County alone while about 8,000 customers were in the dark in Cook County, which includes Chicago.

“The severe threat has diminished/ended for most of the Chicago metro area. Severe T-storm Watch remains in effect for a bit longer for Will, Kankakee, Ford, Iroquois, and northwest Indiana counties,” NWS Chicago said on TwitterQ.

(Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Mark Heinrich)

Duo Storms Bring Potential Flooding and Snow to High Plains and Rockies

Duo storm systems over the Midwest and Rockies is likely to produce heavy rainfall capable of flooding, severe thunderstorms, and even snow.

The Weather Channel reports that the High Plains will see severe thunderstorms and even some flooding as the 4-5 day period of rain falls over the area. Some parts of the plains may even set all-time monthly records for April.

Many areas in the Plains from South Dakota to Texas could see at least 3 inches of rainfall through Tuesday evening. Parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas could see around 5-8 inches of rain over the next few days.

Additionally, this storm could produce severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging winds, and possibly tornadoes.

And if that weren’t enough, the High Plains may also see snow as Winter Storm Vexo hits the Rockies this weekend.

The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings for parts of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. So far, The Weather Channel has reported that Nebraska and South Dakota will be the only states in the High Plains to possibly see snow.

Winter Storm Vexo will also bring strong winds that could reach gusting speeds of 30-50 mph and may cause power outages throughout the Rockies and High Plains.

Tornado reported, flash flood watches expanded as severe weather targets South

Portions of the Southern Plains on Tuesday morning were beginning to feel the force of the thunderstorms and flash flooding that is expected to hit the region over the next few days.

National Weather Service radar showed rain falling across Texas and Oklahoma, the beginning of a series of thunderstorms forecast to bring up to 10 inches of rain to the South by Thursday.

The service said the thunderstorms could also generate tornadoes, and its Storm Prediction Center had already received one report of a funnel cloud in Texas by 10 a.m. Central Time.

A tornado watch was in effect for 31 counties in Texas. It was set to expire at 1 p.m. today.

Other counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were under warnings and watches for severe thunderstorms, and the service advised high wind gusts and penny-sized hail were possible.

The National Weather Service also expanded its flash flood watches to larger parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, warning waters could rise quickly in those areas. The highest rainfall totals are still expected in East Texas, Western Louisiana and Southwest Arkansas, but updated forecasts show parts of Missouri and Oklahoma could receive 4 inches.

Many of the flash flood watches are slated to begin this afternoon and continue through Thursday, though residents of the affected areas should monitor their local forecasts.

The service’s Storm Prediction Center said communities in South Texas, as well as those along the state’s Gulf Coast, had the highest risk of experiencing severe thunderstorms today. It said there was an “enhanced” risk of the storms in those areas, the middle level on a five-tier system.

But the tornado was reported in Tolar, which is located about 80 miles southwest of Dallas.

The Storm Prediction Center had received at least 10 reports of high winds as of 10 a.m. Central Time, all in North Texas. The reports indicated that gusts of up to 70 mph were recorded in Tarrant County, where a roof was blown off a business and large branches fell on a sidewalk.

Utility company Oncor said about 36,000 of its customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were without power as of 10 a.m. Tuesday. And flight monitoring website flightaware.com said some 230 flights to or from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport had been delayed by that time.