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Lollapalooza Resumes As Thunderstorms Move Through Chicago Area

(CBS) -- Severe thunderstorms moved though the Chicago area Sunday afternoon, downing trees and causing a brief evacuation of the Lollapalooza music festival in Grant Park.

The festival evacuated after 2 p.m. and re-opened 3:30 p.m., with music resuming at 4 p.m.

"Our first priority is always the safety of our fans, staff and artists," said Sandee Fenton, director of publicity for C3 Presents, the promoter behind Lollapalooza. "We regret having to suspend any show, but safety always comes first."

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The area was under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning until 3:15 p.m. as storms creating half-inch hail and wind gust of over 40 miles-per-hour moved through.

In northwest suburban Wood Dale, high winds caused a tent to collapse at a festival, with reports of one fatality and multiple injuries.

The fast moving storm downed trees in Rogers Park and other parts of the North Side. A man was hit by a tree at Touhy and Kedzie shortly before 3 p.m., according to the Chicago Fire Department. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in unknown condition.

Late Sunday afternoon, ComEd reported a total of 38,000 customers without power as a result of the storms.

Rogers Park Storm Damage
Storm damage in Rogers Park. (Credit: Adam Davis.)

In Rosemont, the Dome at the Ballpark, which houses ball fields and batting cages, collapsed as a result of the thunderstorms.

The dome is located next to Rosemont Field where a Chicago Bandits softball team plays. PA announcer Doug Meffley says a game was ready to get underway when the stadium was cleared because of the coming storm.

"Winds were gusting so bad the bullpen fence actually blew into the field of play, we couldn't really see the field," he said. "Once it was through it was over and we looked across the parking lot and the dome had completely collapsed, the bubble had ripped apart and inside it was very mangled. There was debris in the parking lot and it actually made its way into the stadium."

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