Weather Service confirms 14 tornadoes hit northern Illinois

Updated: Aug 17, 2020 / 06:28 AM CDT

A downed tree blocks a roadway in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. A rare storm packing 100 mph winds and with power similar to an inland hurricane swept across the Midwest on Monday, blowing over trees, flipping vehicles, causing widespread property damage, and leaving hundreds of thousands without power as it moved through Chicago and into Indiana and Michigan. (AP Photo/Tom Berman)

CHICAGO (AP) — Survey teams with the National Weather Service have confirmed that 14 tornadoes touched down Monday in northern Illinois when a rare storm known as a derecho swept parts of the Midwest.

The weather service’s Chicago office said in a Thursday update that it confirmed a total of 15 tornado touchdowns in its forecast region, including one in the northwestern Indiana town of Kentland.

The 14 other tornadoes were in northern Illinois, and most of those were in the Chicago metropolitan area, including an EF-1 tornado with 110 mph winds that hit the Rogers Park neighborhood on the city’s north side before moving onto Lake Michigan as a waterspout.

That storm left damage along a 3-mile-long path. The weather service also documented wind damage in several areas that were raked by winds of 75 mph or greater and toppled trees and power lines, causing widespread power outages.

ComEd continues to work to restore power in the Chicago area. As of 7 a.m. Friday, the utility reported that more than 55,000 of its customers remained without power.