Thousands Without Power Monday Afternoon From Storms: ComEd

CHICAGO — Around 20,000 people were without power as of Monday afternoon as storms including strong winds and heavy rains passed through the Chicago area, officials said.

Winds of about 45 mph were seen on the West Side near O'Hare International Airport and a weather observation station at Midway measured 48 mph, the National Weather Service said. About 2 inches of rain also fell in Cook County with other counties seeing up to 4 inches.

Commonwealth Edison told Patch about 19,000 Cook County residents were without power by mid-morning but that over half of those affected had power restored by noon Monday. Outages peaked at 33,000 without power earlier in the morning, ComEd spokeswoman Lux Bottecchia said.

A lakeshore flood advisory is in effect until 7 p.m. Monday as waves of about 16 feet crash onto the Lakeshore path. Running paths and beaches from Lincoln Park to downtown were closed for the warning as well as from 47th to 51st streets.

Wind and rain are expected to dwindle by 3 p.m. Monday with a few drier days until heavy rain hits again on Thursday, officials from NWS said.