Illinois storms damage buildings and down trees across the state – NBC Chicago

Severe storms with wind gusts exceeding 60 miles per hour rocked Illinois on Friday evening, leading to a partial building collapse at a theater, a shelter-in-place announcement at O’Hare Airport and damage in many communities.

An evening of concerts was interrupted at the Apollo Theater in Belvidere, where severe storms caused a roof to collapse, killing one and more than two dozen. The storm’s impact was felt elsewhere, including Kane and Kendall counties, where dispatchers said they were busy fielding damage calls.

The storms brought hail of various sizes to parts of the state – from Olympia Fields to Bloomington. Some were even big enough to burst through the back window of a car.

The inclement weather also hit the Peoria area, where it caused a gas station canopy to collapse. In Ford County, east of Pontiac, many trees were downed during the storms. Meanwhile, in Tazewell County, cattle became trapped under a barn when it collapsed.

“The storm came in with fairly fast straight-line winds, and we were out there at my house and watched our neighbor’s barn get knocked over… The storm just blew it away,” said Brice McGarity, who has witnessed the collapse. and helped save his neighbour’s cows.

More than 57,000 ComEd customers were left without power in northern Illinois, including at least 25,000 in the Chicago area and another 16,000 in or near Rockford.