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Blaring sirens, severe thunderstorms and power outages leave Chicago residents SHAKEN

More than 384 outages were reported across the region, affecting more than 56,000 residents

Ahead of a potential extreme heat wave this week, a thunderstorm swept through the Chicago area on Monday, June 13, evening. This resulted in tornado warnings and widespread damages to property. A funnel cloud was reported over Gary and is now moving towards southeast.

As reported by NBC 5, the storm could move into Lyons, Justice, Summit, Bridgeview, Hickory Hills, Hodgkins, Burbank, Palos Hills, Northerly Island, Brighton Park, Chicago Ridge, Worth, Oak Lawn, Chicago Lawn, Bridgeport, Ashburn and New City. Two meteorologists of CBS, Mary Kay Kleist and Albert Ramon reported no funnel clouds have been spotted from that storm system, although the system is producing heavy rain, and hail and severe winds are also possible. A tornado watch has also been canceled in DeKalb, Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties in Illinois. 

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The National Weather Service also tweeted saying, "Our radar shows increasing rotation just east of Gary and west of Lake Station, heading southeast toward South Haven &Wheeler. Even if not producing a tornado, this storm is likely producing widespread wind damage! Remain in safe shelter away from windows!"

A separate severe thunderstorm watch was issued for Jasper and Newton counties in Indiana and Kenosha County in Wisconsin until 9 pm CT. 

Damages and outages

As per NBC, until 7.28 pm, more than 384 outages were reported across the region, affecting more than 56,000 residents. The western suburbs were hit hard, with approximately 19,000 people without power in an area including Maywood, Broadview, Westchester.

Officials in Maywood reported that the entire roof of a third floor apartment building was torn off by the storm. In Lincoln Park, part of a wall in a parking garage collapsed. According to the National Weather Service, there have been reports of trees down in Elgin and Roselle. In Bellwood, the fire department said a three-story building in the 600 block of South 24th Avenue was damaged by the storm, but additional details were not immediately available.

There also have been reports of quarter-sized hail in Kildeer and Park Ridge. The storm brought wind gusts of up to 84 mph to O'Hare International Airport.

Chicago's dramatic weather

Many took to Twitter to show the destruction. One posted by saying, "Just took this in Lincoln park, does this mean there’s a rain delay??" Another user said, "That storm was no joke! This is the walkway to the blue line by my job and that road sign is about 30 feet from where it should be! #chicagoweather"

"Tree uprooted after tonight’s severe storms in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicagoland," wrote another individual. Many posted videos of tornado warning sirens blaring in the distance as Chicago tried to grapple with the storms, some posted videos of menacing dark clouds covering their skylines. "Well I'm actually kinda terrfied now....seen in Logan Square...Chicago tornado watch." Another posted a video of downtown Chicago with sirens blaring in the distance.