Severe weather pounds Illinois and Indiana, knocking out power as tornado sirens blare

CHICAGO (AP) — Severe weather cut power to over half a million people in the Chicago area and northwestern Indiana as perilous thunderstorms and extreme wind gusts pummeled the region on Tuesday.

Tornado warning sirens howled as the skies darkened. All flights were temporarily stopped at Chicago’s two major airports, and officials warned about delays as the backlog was cleared. In Ohio, power outages swept the state capital region.

Photos from the Chicago area that were posted on social media showed flooded roads, trees tangled in power lines and homes with gashes in the roof.

“No power. It was very scary. We were down in the basement,” Javid Jenkins in Homewood, a Chicago suburb, said. “We’re built for snow. We’re built for cold. We’re not built for this.”

Jenkins, 54, said he was driving around for gas to fire up a generator to preserve food in his refrigerator.

There were numerous reports of wind gusts of 80 mph (128 kph) or more at personal weather stations.

“Total devastation. No roof,” said Kerry Hourigan, standing outside her home of 25 years in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park, Illinois. “Stupid thing but my focus was I just bought a new barbecue grill, and I have no idea where that is. It’s disappeared."

The National Weather Service bluntly warned earlier in the day: “These are dangerous storms!”

More than 600,000 customers lost electricity in Illinois and Indiana, according to poweroutage.us. Lake and Porter counties in Indiana and Will County, Illinois, south of Chicago, were especially hit hard. Farther east in Ohio, more than 166,000 customers were without power.

The fifth day of the 10-day Lake County Fair was canceled, disappointing fans who were hoping to see a professional wrestling event involving people under 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall.

Nearby in LaPorte County, Indiana, there’s a “tremendous amount of tree damage,” Commissioner Joe Haney said.

Officials in Columbus, Ohio, sent local government workers home early ahead of another round of storms. The library in Westerville, Ohio, closed after rain poured into the atrium.

White reported from Detroit.