Destructive storms hit Chicago area with wind gusts over 90mph; 2 tornadoes reported and flooding

Tornadoes were reported touching down in Chicago's south suburbs and in Northwest Indiana as a line of destructive thunderstorms barreled through the area Tuesday morning.

The National Weather Service reports a radar-confirmed tornado was located over south suburban Homewood-Flossmoor moving east at 70 miles per hour, and an additional tornado may be forming over University Park as of 10:55 a.m. Another radar-confirmed tornado has been reported in Crown Point, Indiana, as of 11 a.m. Part of the Indiana Toll Road at mile marker 17.5 is closed in both directions because of power lines across both directions of travel. Indiana State Police said multiple semis rolled over on southbound I-65 at US 30 after having pulled over for safety during the severe weather. The radar-confirmed tornado in the south suburbs is believed to be at least an EF-2, based on the wind speeds picked up by the Doppler. The tornado was also rain-wrapped and could not be easily seen. Hurricane-force winds were reported throughout the area, with the strongest gust reported in Gary, Indiana, at 99 miles per hour. In Sugar Grove, Illinois, a gust of 97 mph was reported, while in Shorewood they reported winds as high as 96 mph. Tornado sirens wailed in Aurora and Plainfield around 10:15 a.m., and by 10:45 a.m. they were heard in the city of Chicago. Multiple tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings and watches issued during the storms have since expired. A Flood Advisory has been issued for Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Kankakee, and Will counties until 1:30 p.m., in Kane and Kendall counties in Illinois and Lake and Newton counties in Indiana until 2 p.m., and in Lake County, Illinois, until 2:45 p.m. A flood warning has been issued for Lake and Porter counties in Indiana until 4:30 p.m. Ground stops that had been issued earlier for both O'Hare and Midway airports have since expired. ComEd is reporting power outages affecting more than 268,000 customers in Northern Illinois and Nipsco is reporting power outages affecting more than 284,000 customers in Northwest Indiana as of 2 p.m. Downed trees, power lines and flooding among storm damage reports Reports of widespread damage began as the storms quickly moved through and out of the area. The hardest hit areas to be the south and southwest suburbs and Northwest Indiana, but the line of storms stretched north to south across the entire Chicagoland area. In Oswego a live downed power line sparked a fire in the grass next to Grove Road south of Collins Road. The high winds downed massive trees and branches throughout the area, blocking the 8900 block of S. Phillips in Chicago's Calumet Heights neighborhood. In Lansing and in Orland Park, enormous trees were toppled from the roots and branches and debris blocked roads.