High winds, blew through the western suburbs at a speed of about 55 miles per hour.
People moving about the area are advised to be careful as several live electrical wires have been downed.
Numerous reports of winds above 60 miles per hour have been received by the National Weather Service, as well as downed trees and power lines. Hail and winds above 80 miles were also reported in some areas. In one West Side neighborhood near Harrison and Francisco, trees uprooted by the wind littered streets. Cars were also blown over.
"It was like a hurricane, and just came through like all of a sudden," resident George Jefferson said.
"It was everywhere. Blowing everywhere. Wind, the trees. I looked out the window, about everything in my house blew off the shelf," Dianna Courtes told ABC7 Chicago.
From that neighborhood to another one, the scene at the Randolph Street Market Fest in the West Loop also showed storm damage. When the storms rolled in, people at that festival ran for cover as quickly as possible. Signs were scene blowing through street.
Up north at Wrigley Field, more trouble. Te cubs lost to the L.A. Angels, but if that wasn't bad enough, storms blasted the field. ABC7 saw damage in that area, as well.
Some storm-related injuries have been reported, but details were not known as of 6 p.m. Friday.
Commonwealth Edison reports 284,000 customers without power in northern Illinois, including 73,000 in Chicago, 97,000 in the northern suburbs, about 61,000 in the southern suburbs, and 52,000 in the western suburbs.
Earlier in the day, temperatures had been near 90 degrees, with the heat index approaching 100. The temperature dropped almost 20 degrees during the storms.
More storms could be moving into the Chicago area after midnight Friday night.
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