Extremely windy weather persists in the Chicago area, with gusts that could exceed 60 mph, strong enough to knock down tree limbs, make driving very difficult and lead to some power outages, according to the National Weather Service.
A high wind warning was in effect for the Chicago area until 4 p.m. as forecasters anticipate gusts will continue surpassing 60 mph.
ComEd is reporting 20,000 outages, largely centered on the North Side as of about 7:55 a.m., according to their outage map.
The wind caused a brief ground stop at O’Hare International Airport, which expired about 7:15 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Wind gusts at O’Hare and Midway Airports peaked at 53 and 56 mph respectively as of about 5 a.m., the National Weather Service said. Valparaiso Airport in Indiana reported gusts at 63 mph and DuPage Airport reached 62 mph.
“It’s sort of the same as a severe thunderstorm,” said Brett Borchardt, a meteorologist with the weather service. “It’s a wind strong enough to knock down tree limbs, make driving very difficult and even lead to some power outages.”
The strong winds originated from a low pressure system moving toward Lake Michigan from Madison, Wisconsin, where northern Illinois and northwest Indiana are on the southern end of the system.
“It’s just the strength of this low pressure system that is driving these winds to be so strong,” Borchardt said.
Borchardt notes that Saturday looks to be a “break in the action” before another storm system approaches Sunday night.
The system could potentially bring severe thunderstorms and snowfall and temperatures are expected to plummet from the 40s to the 20s Monday and Tuesday, according to the weather service. The wind chill could struggle to get above minus five degrees by early next week.
“That’s gonna be a storm system that could give us a little bit of everything,” Borchardt said.
About the Author
Discover more from USA NEWS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
