Thunderstorms with heavy rains and possible tornadoes rattled the Chicago area and elsewhere in the Midwest, leaving a dam near failure Tuesday in southern Illinois, cutting power to hundreds of thousands, and even sending weather forecasters scrambling for safety. A woman in Indiana died after a tree fell onto a home.
A dam near the town of Nashville, population 3,000, was in imminent danger of failure after heavy rain, officials said.
Darrah Sabo, deputy director of the Washington County Emergency Management Agency, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that about 300 residents live in the zone that is under evacuation orders. The homes are near the Nashville City Reservoir, about 55 miles (88 kilometers) southeast of St. Louis.
The National Weather Service said 5-7 inches (12.7-27.8 centimeters) of rain fell over an eight-hour period. Additional heavy rain was in the forecast. The service warned of potential “life-threatening flash flooding.” An 11-mile stretch of Interstate 64 in the Nashville area was closed because of flooding.
A 44-year-old woman died Monday night in Cedar Lake, Indiana, the Lake County Coroner’s office said.
Laura Nagel, 44, of the 8900 block of West 141st Lane in Cedar Lake, died when the tree fell. The coroner’s office was called to the scene at 10:19 p.m., as tornado sirens blared across the region.
Cedar Lake woman dies after storm knocks tree down onto house
After Monday night’s storm, Metra informed riders that service Tuesday morning may be changed or reduced. They advised riders to check metra.com for updates. A CTA spokesperson said service was running normally Tuesday, after brief delays Monday night from weather-induced signal problems.
There were 78 flight cancellations and 114 delays Tuesday morning at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, according to flight tracking service FlightAware. At Midway, four flights were canceled and 41 delayed.
Nearly 390,000 customers were left without power in northern Illinois alone, according to poweroutage.us.
“There are numerous reports of power lines down throughout the city as a result of this evening’s storm,” the police department in Joliet, Illinois, posted online Monday night. “Many roadways are partially or completely blocked by trees or tree branches.” The city is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.
The National Weather Service in Chicago had to take cover for a time and later reported extensive damage in the city. The agency reported wind speeds in the region of up to 75 mph (120 kph).
A flash flood warning also was issued in the Chicago area into early Tuesday. No major flooding damage was reported through Tuesday morning.
Tornado warnings issued for parts of northern Illinois, collar counties
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