A severe weather outbreak swept through the Chicago area on Tuesday night, bringing strong thunderstorms, heavy lightning, and reports of as many as five tornadoes. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the storms produced large hail, likely several tornadoes, and wind damage across northern Illinois and extreme Northwest Indiana.

Reports indicated that the greatest damage was observed in suburbs such as Geneva and Barrington. Trained tornado spotters reported at least four tornado touchdowns between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the Chicago area, with a fifth tornado touching down in western Illinois. One tornado caused damage near Sugar Grove in southern Kane County, affecting Waubonsee Community College.

In addition to tornado activity, large hail was reported in several areas, with hail ranging from two inches in diameter in Woodridge to ping pong ball-sized hail near Plainfield. Strong wind gusts were also recorded, with one gust reaching 82 miles per hour in a Cook County suburb.

The severe weather resulted in power outages across the region, leaving more than 900 people without electricity as of 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. Barrington, Hoffman Estates, Deer Park, and Inverness were among the areas most affected by the outages. ComEd stated that they were mobilizing additional crews and equipment to address the power outages caused by the storm.

As damage assessments and reports continue to be finalized by NWS teams, residents are urged to remain vigilant and take precautions in the aftermath of the severe weather outbreak.