CHICAGO _ One person was confirmed dead in Ottawa in north-central Illinois after a tornado touched down there, part of a weather system that produced severe weather across the northern part of the state Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service.
The Ottawa Fire Department reported one fatality from the tornado that hit Ottawa about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
Another round of storms spurred tornado warnings again after 6 p.m. in LaSalle, Livingston and Grundy counties. A trained spotter reported a tornado near Rutland a little before 6 p.m.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Amy Seeley said she did not have a full count of how many tornadoes were reported because some sightings may have been the same system. Investigators will assess damage Wednesday and determine whether a twister hit Oregon, Ill., in Ogle County, also.
"Besides the tornadoes, there was a lot of hail reports across the area," Seeley said. "Ottawa had the baseball-size hail too. We are starting to get some flooding in Will County."
Thunderstorm warnings were still in effect until 7:45 p.m. through much of the southern parts of the Chicago area, including parts of Cook, Will, Kendall and Grundy counties. A flood advisory was in effect for Will, southern Kendall, southeastern Cook and parts of Livingston, LaSalle and Grundy counties until 9:30 p.m. Heavy rains produced 12 inches of standing water in New Lenox, with 1 to 2 inches of rain expected in the area, according to the weather service.
There were widespread power outages in LaSalle County following the tornado touchdown, according to Ameren Illinois.
A twister hit the LaSalle County Nursing Home in Ottawa. A woman answering the telephone at the nursing home said several residents reported bumps and bruises but no serious injuries. Trees and power lines were also down in the area.
Jerry Janick, a captain for the city of La Salle's fire department, said his department sent an ambulance and equipment to nearby Ottawa and Naplate.
Workers with the LaSalle County Emergency Management Agency were out surveying damage, the office said.
In Oregon, Ill., the city's emergency manager reported buildings destroyed, large trees uprooted and siding taken off homes in a storm that hit the area a little after 5 p.m., according to the weather service.
A tornado watch was in effect until 10 p.m. Tuesday for northern and central Illinois, northwest Indiana and eastern Iowa, with strong storms including "very large hail" over the whole area and the threat of tornadoes highest south of Interstate 88, according to the National Weather Service.
Large hail fell throughout northern Illinois, with 1-inch hailstones reported in Alsip and Romeoville, according to the weather service.
"Storms will eventually develop into a complex ahead of a cold front, which will push east across the outlook area overnight," according to the weather service.
The watch area includes all of northern and central Illinois, as well five northwest Indiana counties and 17 counties in Iowa.
