Severe Storm Rips through Lemont; Power Outages, Damage Reported

UPDATE, (1 p.m. Monday, July 2)

Chipain's Fresh Market, 1100 State St., reopened Monday after losing power for 36 hours over the weekend.

A message was posted to the grocery store's Facebook page around 10 a.m. Monday:

"After 36 hours without power, we are up and running. We are sorry for any inconvenience this event has caused you, our valued customers."

A manager at Chipain's said the store lost all of its produce and meat during the outage, but was in the process of restocking Monday.

UPDATE, (9:45 a.m. Saturday, June 30)

The following message was released Saturday morning by the :

Tree limbs will be picked up Monday 7-2 and Tuesday 7-3 by Lemont Public Works. Limbs must be in front on parkway. Storm damage only.

UPDATE, (9:40 a.m. Saturday, June 30)

Tom Ballard, director of the Lemont Emergency Management Agency, said power has been restored to most of Lemont as of 9:30 a.m. Public Works crews have been cleaning up debris since early this morning, he said.

According to Ballard, 60-mph winds brought down a traffic light at I-355 and 127th Street and several trees across the village.

UPDATE, (9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 30)

Chief Carl Churulo of the said there were no major accidents related to the severe storm that passed through Lemont late Friday.

"We got really lucky," Churulo said. "I think the worst of it was in Romeoville, Plainfield, Lockport and northwest Homer. We had a couple of calls, but nothing serious."

ORIGINAL POST (12:43 a.m. Saturday, June 30)

Widespread property damage and power outages were reported in on Friday after a severe thunderstorm ripped through the southwest suburbs.

The fast-moving storm produced hurricane-like winds of 85 to 90 mph in some areas, knocking down trees, light poles and power lines. 

Several Lemont residents reported that tornado sirens were activated around 10 p.m. as the storm moved east through the village.

Tom Ballard, director of the Lemont Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the sirens were activated due to the high winds, not because a tornado was sighted.

 Chief Kevin Shaughnessy reported several downed trees and light poles across Lemont. A mailbox was pulled out of the ground at 127th Street and Hillview Drive, and a downed tree caused damage in the 1200 block of Eagle Crest Drive, he said.

As of midnight, the traffic light was down at I-355 and 127th Street, Shaughnessy said. 

Major outages were reported along State Street near Archer Avenue, 127th Street and Keepataw Drive. Lights were also out at , 13440 Archer Ave.

Shaughnessy said ComEd and Meade Electric were both notified of the outages Friday night.

ComEd spokeswoman Arlana Johnson said the Joliet-Romeoville-Plainfield area was the hardest hit in terms of power outages and downed lines. As of 1:30 a.m., there were approximately 52,000 customers without power, according to ComEd's website.

Here are some of the comments readers left on the Lemont Patch Facebook page:

• "We all seem ok, lost a 3 inch round by 6 foot branch....:( but all is ok"

• "I heard tornado sirens in Lemont so we hit the basement. The winds were very harsh."

• "Tornado sirens, tree branches down, lots of wind, rain, thunder & lightning...love it! More storms heading this way over the next few hours."

• "Hubby cleared a big branch out of the middle of Eureka Ave. We lost a big branch on the other side of the house (2nd one today). Was an interesting time. Trees down in Lockport. Power outages over that way too."

• "Crazy wind but didn't hear any sirens!?!!"

• "Yes, tornado sirens in Lemont. Really powerful wind and power outages."

• "Transformers blew"

• "Transformer blew up on Archer and 135th...no power over here."

• "Fingers are crossed power turns on before the sump pit overflows..All dark here in Briarcliffe Estates."

Check back with Patch on Saturday for more details on Friday's severe storm.

Snap a photo of storm damage? Or the storm itself? E-mail it to amanda@patch.com, or upload to this article.

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