NOTE: For the most up-to-date outage reports, visit ComEd’s website.
The Chicago area is at an “enhanced’ risk of severe weather on Tuesday night, but gusty winds out ahead of the storms are already causing serious issues, with thousands left without electricity.
According to ComEd, more than 12,000 customers were without power as of 8:20 p.m., with many of the outages reported in far-northern Illinois.
More than 4,300 customers were without power in Stephenson County, while nearly 2,000 were without power in Cook and Winnebago counties, according to the utility.
Several hundred were left in the dark in Lake and DuPage counties.
Along with the gusty winds, severe storms began to impact western Illinois late Tuesday afternoon and into the evening hours, sparking warnings in numerous counties.
The Chicago area has multiple counties under a tornado watch, including McHenry, DeKalb, Kane, LaSalle and Kendall counties.
With those storms imminent, the utility says it is taking steps to shore up the grid, and has positioned crews to deal with outages as the night progresses.
The winds are expected to ease after the cold front moves through the area Wednesday morning, with cooler temperatures arriving behind it.