Road Closure Reported; Authorities Urge Caution While Driving

LAKE COUNTY, IL — The Lake County Sheriff's Office is urging drivers to be cautious this morning after high winds blew branches and other debris into roadways.

For those driving before sunrise, the debris may be especially hard to see, according to a post on the Lake County Sheriff's Office Facebook page early Thursday. A high wind warning remains in effect through 9 a.m. Thursday.

As part of the warning, wind gusts of up to 50 mph are expected in areas, according to the National Weather Service.Weather officials reported wind gusts as high as 74 mph in the Chicago area overnight.

As of 6:30 a.m., at least one roadway in Lake County has been closed down due to issues from the wind. A portion of eastbound Route 137 east of O'Plaine Road in Green Oaks has been closed due to downed wires, according to Lake County PASSAGE.

As of 6:40 a.m. Rockland Road west of St. Mary's Road in Green Oaks was also shut down due to downed wires

You can check for updates on road closures on the Lake County PASSAGE website.

As of early Thursday, there have been several reports of downed trees and trees on power lines across the Chicago area, according to a 4:30 a.m. update from the National Weather Service. Wind gust readings tipped over 50 mph in Lake and McHenry counties, including a 58 mph wind gust recorded in Crystal Lake at 11:20 p.m. and a 58 mph wind gust recorded in Waukegan , according to National Weather Service storm reports.

As of 6:40 a.m., 1,800 customers were without power in Lake County, or less than 5 percent of the county's total population, and more than 13,000 people were without power across the state, according to ComEd.

• 35,000 Without Power As Damaging Winds Hit Chicago Area

In addition, weather officials are letting early riser know that they may notice the smell of smoke when they head out today.

"Have no fear-there are no fires nearby. The smoke is actually from Kansas, traveling some 600 miles overnight with the strong southwest winds," according to an early morning tweet from the National Weather Service.

Any early risers out there may smell smoke. Have no fear - there are no fires nearby. The smoke is actually from Kansas, traveling some 600 miles overnight with the strong southwest winds. #ilwx #inwx
— NWS Chicago (@NWSChicago) December" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/NWSChicago... 16, 2021

The high winds is the latest round of severe weather to hit Illinois. On Friday night, a tornado swept through Edwardsville, Illinois, where six Amazon workers died in a partial building collapse.