The storms tearing through the Chicago area have resulted in more than 125 canceled flights at O'Hare Airport, a ground delay of at least an hour at the airport, nearly 60,000 ComEd customers without power, and one report of a tornado touching down in the far south suburbs.
The high winds have caused a ban for some large semi trucks on the Indiana Toll Road. According to Indiana State Police, there was a ban Tuesday morning on semi tractor trailers pulling long doubles, triples, and oversized loads. Because of the high winds, these vehicles were prohibited from traveling on the Toll Road until further notice Tuesday morning. Any of these vehicles that were already on the Toll Road will have to pull into rest areas until it's been determined that they can continue their trips safely.
This is expected to be one of the most powerful storms to hit the area in quite some time, the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications said.
Lake Michigan is also expected to experience significant waves and storm force winds of 48 knots or greater, according to OEMC.
"We're expecting sustained winds on the order of 35 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph throughout the afternoon," said Edward Fenelon, a weather service meteorologist in Romeoville, Ill. He said the storm's central pressure is equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane.
