Community Corner

ComEd: Tuesday Storms Leave More than 200,000 Without Power

About 1,200 people are reportedly without power in the company's Joliet region, which includes Lemont and Lemont Township.

Crews from Commonwealth Edison are working to restore power to about 268,000 customers after a severe thunderstorm downed trees and power lines throughout the Chicago area Tuesday night, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The storm, which passed through the southwest suburbs between 8:20 p.m. and 9 p.m., prompted tornado warnings from the National Weather Service and caused sirens to be sounded across the region.

In Lemont, minimal damage was sustained, according to police and fire officials.

Find out what's happening in Lemontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Around 9 p.m. Tuesday, Lemont Police Chief Kevin Shaughnessy said residents had reported "sporadic power outages" and downed tree branches.

Power was lost in the area near McCarthy Avenue and Archer Avenue, causing a minor accident, according to Cmdr. Dan Tully.

Find out what's happening in Lemontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On Wednesday morning, there were still reports of power outages in a few areas, "but nothing major," he added.

Tully said the only somewhat major incident resulting from the storms was on Ridge Road, where an oak tree fell on a home. The house sustained some structural damage, but there were no injuries, he said.

At 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Lemont Fire Chief Carl Churulo said there were several downed trees on the eastbound lane of Bluff Road.

that about 1,200 people are without power in the Joliet region, which includes Lemont, Lemont Township and Romeoville.

The Sun-Times reports that the north suburbs were hit the hardest, with 187,000 without power Wednesday morning.

“As of 8 a.m., we had restored power to 126,000 customers,” ComEd spokesperson Tony Hernandez said, adding about 4,000 ComEd crews have been deployed to continue to restore service.

“They continue to work around the clock to restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” he said.

The National Weather Service reported multiple funnel clouds across the area Tuesday night, but there have yet to be any confirmed reports of tornadoes.

The quick-moving storm brought heavy rains and high winds to the area, including an 81-mph gust in Wheeling.

In Lemont, winds registered in excess of 65 mph, Tully said.


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