615,000 without power, travel delays after weather storms pelt Chicago

Severe thunderstorms swept through the Chicago area Monday morning, pelting commuters rushing to get to work and leaving more than 615,000 Commonwealth Edison customers without power.

The heavy rain, hail and winds have downed wires throughout the city and sent trees into streets.

As of 9:15 a.m, more than 615,000 ComEd customers were without power after the storms, a spokesman said. The hardest hit region was in the northern suburbs where 280,000 are without power.

In the west suburbs, 156,000 are without power and in Chicago and Maywood, 108,000 customers were affected the spokesman said. In the south suburbs, 80,000 customers are without power Monday morning.

Meanwhile, flights in and out of O’Hare International Airport are experiencing 45 minute delays. More than 100 flights have been canceled, the Dept. of Aviation said.

At Midway International Airport, some airlines are experiencing delays averaging 50 minutes for in and inbound flights, with one cancellation reported, the, the department said.

Trains were either halted or delayed during the heavy storms, according to both the CTA and Metra.

On Metra, due to weather related high winds, Union Pacific North Line, Northwest Line and West Line trains were stopped, according to Metra spokesman Michael Gillis.

Trains were back on the move by about 8:50 a.m. but several trains remained delayed as of 9:40 a.m.

On the BNSF Railway line, trains were traveling at a reduced speed due to the winds, Gillis said. All other lines were operating normally.

The CTA was honoring Metra tricks on Union Pacific trains during the delays.

Meanwhile, the CTA issued a customer alert noting all CTA trains were experiencing major delays due to the severe weather.

Downed trees on tracks near the Morris station temporarily stopped Purple Line train service. Yellow Line service has also been suspended. Meanwhile, a CTA commuter indicated the downed tree had also stopped Red Line trains near the area.

At 8:40 a.m, the National Weather Service Doppler Radar indicated a line of severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds in excess of 60 mph. Those storms were found along a line extending from 37 miles east of Winthrop Harbor to 32 miles north of Long Beach to 18 miles north of Long Beach to Portage to Beecher. That storm was moving east at 65 mph.

It appears the storms are moving past the Chicago area into northwest Indiana.

Source: http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/6455127-417/615000-without-power-travel-delays-after-storms-pelt-chicago-area.html