STORMS RIP THROUGH AREA, KNOCK OUT POWER

Tornado warnings sounded throughout the Chicago area Monday evening as storms ripped through the region, with winds reportedly reaching up to 90 mph in Chicago and knocking out power to thousands in the area.

More than 53,000 ComEd customers in the Chicago area lost power, with Maywood taking the brunt of the hit, with 44,000 outages, a ComEd spokeswoman said Monday at 8 p.m.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Ricky Castro said that despite the rotational nature of the storm cell, there were no confirmed tornadoes in the area.

“It’s possible there was a tornado in the northern suburbs, but it’s not something we can conclusively say until we can a get crew to survey the area; that will likely happen Tuesday,” Castro said.

Winds gusted to 84 mph at O’Hare Airport and 69 mph at Midway Airport, Castro said.

There were also reports of hail with a diameter of one inch.

The storm moved through the northern suburbs at about 30 mph before turning southeast and increasing in speed slightly before making its way through the city around 7 p.m., Castro said.

“Warnings went out well in advance,” Castro said.

Part of a wall collapsed at the Toyota of Lincoln Park dealership at 1561 N. Fremont St., but there were no injuries, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman said.

The city also received numerous reports of felled trees and accompanying damage, but no reports of any injuries caused by the storm, the fire department spokesman said.

And the start time for a Cubs game against the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field was delayed as fans sought shelter in the Friendly Confines.

Temperatures surging into 90s

On the heels of Monday’s storm, temperatures will soar into the 90s this week as “dangerous heat and humidity” moves into the area, forecasters say.

A heat advisory is issued for Tuesday and Wednesday in northern Illinois, where heat index values could reach between 105 to 109 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.