Illinois
Chicago dust storm: Videos show blanket of dust, low visibility in Illinois – What to do
A dust storm hit Chicago on Friday, with authorities warning other Illinois cities about zero-visibility conditions. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued multiple Dust Storm Warnings for northern Illinois and northwest Indiana this evening, warning of life-threatening driving conditions due to rapidly moving dust clouds and strong winds. The warnings are in effect until 8:00 PM and 8:30 PM CDT, respectively.
Read More: Illinois dust storm tracker: Avoid these streets in Chicago, Naperville and Bloomington
At approximately 6:45 PM CDT, a massive dust wall was observed moving north at 45 to 50 mph, sweeping across the Chicagoland area from Sandwich to Chicago’s South Side and extending into northwest Indiana.
Automated weather stations, including Chicago Midway Airport, reported wind gusts near 60 mph and visibility reduced to less than a quarter mile.
Northern Illinois Counties Hit Hard
The warning covers wide swaths of northeastern Illinois, including:
Cook County: Englewood, Austin, Summit, Oak Lawn, South Shore, Roseland, and Chicago’s Loop area.
DeKalb County: Hinckley and southeastern portions.
DuPage County: Lisle, Westmont, Oakbrook Terrace, and Glendale Heights.
Kane County: Aurora, Elgin, Gilberts, and South Elgin.
Kendall, La Salle, and Will Counties: Lisbon, Sheridan, Preston Heights, and areas near Joliet.
Northwest Indiana Also in Danger Zone
The dust storm is also hammering northern Indiana, affecting:
Lake County: Hammond, Whiting, Griffith, East Chicago, and Dyer.
Porter County: Valparaiso, Chesterton, Burns Harbor, Beverly Shores, and South Haven.
Hazards and Safety Alerts
Visibility: Dropping below ¼ mile.
Wind Speeds: Gusts exceeding 50–60 mph.
Impact: “Dangerous, life-threatening travel,” according to emergency management officials.
Several major interstates are impacted, including I-55, I-57, I-80, I-90, I-94, I-294, and I-355 in Illinois, and Interstates 65, 80, 90, and 94 in Indiana.
What to Do
The NWS urges all drivers caught in the storm to pull off the road, turn off lights, and keep feet off the brake to avoid rear-end collisions.
This is the third dust storm warning issued by NWS Chicago this season — a rare and dangerous event for the region. Residents are advised to monitor updates closely and stay indoors until the storm passes.
CENTRALIA, Ill. – An investigation is underway after multiple people were shot Sunday in Centralia, Illinois, according to a report from WFCN News in southern Illinois.
FOX 2 has confirmed the Illinois State Police is investigating a shooting and taking over the investigation, but ISP could not confirm many further details as of 9 p.m. Sunday.
“The investigation is in its infancy and to protect the integrity of the investigation, no additional details will be released at this time,” ISP said in a statement to FOX 2.
According to WFCN News, the shooting happened around 5 p.m. near the 900 block of East Kell Street in Centralia. Multiple law enforcement agencies have since responded to scene and multiple victims are hospitalized, according to the report.
It’s unclear how many people may have been injured and what led up to the shooting.
Centralia, Illinois is about 70 miles, or just over an hour, east of St. Louis.
This is a developing story. FOX 2 will update as more information becomes available.
The National Weather Service has teams of storm surveryors in the field April 18 investigating several reports of severe storms and tornado touch downs across eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois and northeast Missouri.
According to the weather service’s website, windgusts of up to 60 to 70 mph along with teacup-sized hail and several tornadoes were reported April 17.
Many homes and outbuildings were damaged, trees were uprooted and power lines were downed in Lena, Illinois, where the most significant damage occurred, the site pointed out.
Very strong winds also were reported near Washington, Iowa, and Colmar, Illinois, where several outbuildings and grain bins were destroyed.
The weather service received reports of confirmed and possible tornadoes in the areas of Lena, Pecatonica, Shirland, Rockton, Roscoe and Capron.
The teams will be assessing damage this weekend into next week along with county emergency management teams to determine what types of storms occurred and their paths.
Dozens of power outages were reported, as well.
As of the afternoon of April 18, ComEd was reporting 85 active power outages across northern Illinois, down from 241 on April 17, and 6,751 customers affected, down from more than 18,000.
The bulk of those outages and the most customers impacted are concentrated in Jo Daviess and Stephenson counties.
Freeze Watch
from MON 12:00 AM CDT until MON 9:00 AM CDT, Lake County, Kankakee County, La Salle County, DuPage County, Northern Will County, DeKalb County, Southern Will County, Kendall County, Southern Cook County, Northern Cook County, Grundy County, Eastern Will County, Kane County, McHenry County, Lake County, Newton County, Jasper County, Porter County
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