July 19--Heavy storms featuring high winds and lots of rain temporarily buffeted the Chicago area late Saturday afternoon, forcing the evacuation of the Pitchfork Music Festival and moving the National Weather Service to briefly issue a tornado watch for the northern part of the state.
The storm, which ignited a severe thunderstorm warning for downtown Chicago and the northern part of the city, was powerful but of short duration. The festival reopened 40 minutes later, at 4:20 p.m..
One storm casualty was a sailboat whose mast was struck by lightning while it was out on Lake Michigan, said Chicago Fire Department Spokesman Larry Langford. The boat managed to get back into Belmont Harbor at about 4 p.m. where it was met by fire department personnel. The people on the boat refused medical attention.
A tornado watch and heat advisory for Cook County, including Chicago, and DuPage McHenry and Lake County which had been in effect were cancelled by 6 p.m., according to the weather service. But the tornado watch and heat advisories for Will County and points south and east including parts of northern Indiana were still in effect.
There is also a flood advisory until 6 p.m. Saturday for portions of Cook, Kane and DuPage county because the storms that are passing through have been dropping 1 to 2 inches of rain per hour.
That flood advisory was kicked up to a flash flood warning for Lake and McHenry Counties until about 10 p.m. The storm moving through those areas is of longer duration -- and is dropping between 2 and 3 inches of rain per hour, the weather service said.
The areas along the Illinois-Wisconsin border, especially on the Wisconsin side, had been under a severe thunderstorm warning earlier, and portions of central Cook County and northeast Lake County along the lake were added to that watch. Strong, damaging winds gusting at up to 60 mph and heavy rainfall were a feature of those storms.
The agency also briefly raised the tornado watch to a tornado warning for northern McHenry County; that warning was cancelled about 2:45 p.m.
"We've got a lot of instability over us and a lot of energy for storms to develop," Enderlen said early Saturday afternoon. "The environment is really good for having storms that could cause large hail, damaging winds, and a tornado or two can't be ruled out."
The front briefly caused temperatures to dip into the 70s at O'Hare and Midway airports, but as of 1:45 p.m., they soared again into the upper 80s.
Flash flooding is possible with the storms. "As you know we've had a lot of rain over the past couple of months, and these storms could produce more," Enderlen said.
Motorists and pedestrians should be careful and avoid standing water.
Officials said it is a good idea to check in on seniors and those who are ill to make sure they are hydrated and in cool areas.
Pet owners are also being urged to keep their animals safe and to never leave them in a car.
