High Winds Wreak Havoc Across Chicago Area
(CBS) -- The damage-related calls came fast and furious Friday afternoon as high winds swept across the Chicago region. Among the incidents and complications:
--The Willis Tower Skydeck was closed due to "inclement weather," the popular tourist attraction announced on Facebook.
--Some 114,000 ComEd customers were without power in Northern Illinois, including 51,000 customers in the city of Chicago, as of Friday later afternoon.
--Following construction debris falling onto the street from 150 N. Riverside, nearby high rises on Wacker Drive were evacuated, Chicago Fire Department officials said. Some construction workers at the Riverside site were effectively trapped at the top of the building, but were OK after waiting for winds to die down.
--Several portions of Wacker, Lake and Randolph were to remain closed overnight.
--Walls of a building under construction in West Town fell onto a vehicle. The vehicle was flattened. No injuries were reported.
--A tree branch fell onto a city of Chicago Streets and Sanitation vehicle in McKinley Park. No serious injuries were reported.
--A warm-weather cookout turned into a full-blown fire the Princeton Park neighborhood. Wind reportedly blew papers into a grill, sparking a fire that spread to a home next door. The incident occurred near 96th and Wentworth.
--Elevated Green Line rail car service was suspended between Harlem Avenue and Clark/Lake, due to debris on the tracks.
--Metra service was expected to have delays along the Milwaukee North, Milwaukee West and North Central Service lines.
--Flight delayers of 50 minutes were reported at O'Hare International Airport. More than 160 flights were canceled, and some airliners were observed making "go-arounds," multiple attempts at landings. Airline officials say that is common under such windy conditions.
-- Emergency officials responded to a call of a roof collapse at a Target store in Algonquin. It was later established that sheets of drywall had blown onto the parking lot, and the store soon reopened.
--Authorities in La Porte, Ind. say a semi-tractor-trailer truck was blown over on US 421, blocking the roadway. A Jeep collided with the wreckage at CR 2100 S, and the driver received minor injuries.
The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning through 6 p.m. Friday, due to sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph, and gusts of up to 60 mph.
