How Windy Was Wednesday Night?

Peak wind gust measured from Wednesday night through 4 a.m. Thursday across northern Illinois, as submitted to the National Weather Service by local observers. The storm knocked down power lines and blew out transformers across the Chicago area, causing isolated power outages.

• Check the ComEd power outage map

Tornado and funnel cloud sightings were reported in western Illinois near Macomb, Blandinsville, Sciota, Good Hope and Rock Island, between 4:15 p.m. and 4:45 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Did your neighborhood sustain any windstorm damage? Share photos with your Patch community on Facebook or in our comments section.

• Steward, 60 mph, 8:40 p.m.
• Waukegan Regional Airport, 58 mph, 10:26 p.m.
• Midway Airport, 55 mph, 10:18 p.m.
• Sycamore, 54 mph, 9:23 p.m.
• Shorewood, 54 mph, 1:05 a.m., Dec. 24
• Palatine, 54 mph 9:00 p.m.
• Aurora Airport, 53 mph, 9:14 p.m.
• Lockport, 53 mph, 10:05 p.m.
• Lewis Airport Romeoville, 53 mph, 9:55 p.m.
• O’Hare Airport, 53 mph, 10:09 p.m.
• DuPage Airport, 52 mph, 9:32 p.m.
• Minooka, 50 mph, 10:00 p.m.
• Oswego, 49 mph, 9:56 p.m.
• Lake View, 48 mph, 10:09 p.m.
• Highland Park, 48 mph, 10:10 p.m.
• Huntley, 46 mph 9:48 p.m.
• Lansing Airport, 46 mph, 11:15 p.m.
• Peotone, 45 mph, 10:11 p.m.
• Algonquin, 45 mph, 9:44 p.m.
• Geneva, 44 mph, 10:10 p.m.
• Hometown, 43 mph, 10:10 p.m.
• Elburn, 42 mph, 9:49 p.m.
• Glenview, 42 mph, 9:40 p.m.
• Elmhurst, 42 mph, 2:10 a.m. Dec. 24
• Grayslake, 41 mph, 10:08 p.m.
• Montrose Harbor, 40 mph, 10:09 p.m.
• South Barrington, 40 mph, 9:38 p.m.
• Crystal Lake, 40 mph, 10:48 p.m.
• Bolingbrook, 40 mph, 10:55 p.m.
• Hinsdale, 40 mph, 10:39 p.m.
• Joliet Airport, 40 mph, 10:35 p.m.

Not all data is considered official by the NWS due to variations in measuring equipment.

Winter Tornadoes

We had a slight chance of a tornado in the Chicago area Wednesday. Tornadoes were spotted in western Illinois, and they may have touched down in other parts of the Midwest, including Michigan.

Here is a brief history of winter tornadoes in Illinois, according to the NWS.

• January 25, 1950: F2 tornado at Momence, Kankakee County

• December 6, 1951: F2 tornado from Spring Valley, Bureau County to 7 miles northeast of Mendota, LaSalle County (25 mile path 1 killed, 1 injured)

• December 6, 1951: F1 tornado from 1 mile north of Arlington Heights to .5 mile east of Buffalo Grove, Cook County (3 mile path)

• December 3, 1955: F2 tornado from near Dana, LaSalle County to 5 miles south of Mazon, Grundy County (25 mile path, also crossed Livingston County)

• December 4, 1973: F1 tornado near Ashkum, Iroquois County

• February 16, 2006: F1 near Pittwood, Iroquois County

• January 7, 2008: EF3 Poplar Grove to Lawrence