Tornado watch issued for parts of Illinois, including Chicago area; city breaks temp record

Storms swept through the area on Thursday evening, bringing heavy winds and rain, after the city broke a 64-year-old record high temperature.

The city reached record-breaking warmth for May 15 after the high temperature at O’Hare Airport was recorded at 93 degrees, topping the previous record of 91 degrees set in 1961, the National Weather Service said.

A tornado watch in effect for parts of Illinois, including the Chicago area, ended at 8:45 p.m., the weather service said. A severe thunderstorm warning was also issued until 8:45 p.m. for Chicago.

No tornadoes were reported in Illinois or northwest Indiana, said weather service senior meteorologist Brett Borchardt. Wind gusts of nearly 80 mph were recorded a couple miles offshore from the Loop.

“Northern Cook County into southern Lake County, there were reports of up to golf-ball sized hail and a lot of wind damage,” Borchardt said. “And then there was another swath from near I-55 through Will County into southern Cook County, including the South Side of Chicago, with a lot of wind damage and some hail with that, too.”

The largest hail — comparable to the size of a baseball — was spotted near Pontiac, about 100 miles southwest of Chicago, he said.

A ground stop was also issued about 5:15 p.m. for all flights at O’Hare Airport due to the threat of storms, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The ground stop was later lifted. More than 670 flights were delayed and 94 canceled at O’Hare Thursday.

The city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation deployed citywide crews in response to the weather, officials said in a statement. As of Thursday evening, the department received more than 700 service requests across the city related to downed trees, large limbs and other debris, with the majority concentrated on the North Side.

As of 11 p.m. Thursday, over 70,000 ComEd customers were without power, according to the utility’s outage map.

The severe weather threat also delayed the start of Beyonce’s concert at Soldier Field.

The severe weather may continue into Friday with hot weather and strong winds and the possibility for critical fire danger, according to the weather service’s watches, warnings and advisories.

“There’s a potential for really strong winds and very dry conditions that could make it very susceptible to fast-moving and fast-spreading fires,” said Gino Izzi, a meteorologist with the weather service.