Chicago Weather: Strong storms move through Chicago area, sparking tornado warnings as Tropical Depression Cristobal remnants move north

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Strong, fast-moving storms moved through the Chicago area, sparking tornado warnings in the south suburbs and northwest Indiana.

All tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings had expired by 8:15 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

ComEd said 20,258 customers are without power as of 9:15 p.m.; 6,797 in Chicago, 6,000 in the north and northwest suburbs and the remaining 7,461 in the south and west suburbs. At the peak of the storms, 39,000 customers were without power, ComEd said.

Crews have been dispatched to repair power lines and restore power.

Funnel clouds were reported by spotters along the boundary of Will and Lake counties during the warning periods. Downpours and gusty winds were reported widely across the area.

A trained spotter reported seeing a funnel cloud near Monee in Will County lasting about 10 seconds. Funnel clouds were also photographed in far south Ornaga in Iroquois County.

A Wind Advisory went into effect at 12 p.m. for almost all of the Chicago area, including northwest Indiana, and will expire at midnight.

Downed trees and power lines were reported across the south side of the city and south and southwest suburbs. In Arlington Heights an SUV caught fire after crews said a power line was torn down by a tree.

The fire department had to work around active downed power lines to prevent flames from spreading to a neighboring home.

In south suburban Summit, a 30 foot tree was torn right out of the ground.

"It completely snapped and went down and there it is," said Deisy Lopez, Summit resident.

The trunk smashed a fence and brought down power lines with its branches. Lopez called 911 in the aftermath.

"They came and said everything is fine," she said. "The only cord that was damaged was the neighbors', but it is sustained."

In southwest suburban Burbank, tree limbs and debris scattered by wind blocked roads near McVicker and 85th, and city crews were working to clear the roads. Some traffic is being rerouted due to the debris, though no major damage has yet been reported.

In Grand Crossing, a massive tree branch fell and nearly crashed into a home near East 79th Street and South Evans Avenue. The owner said she was watching television just after 3 p.m. when she heard a massive bang and felt her home shake as the tree fell.

The woman said the tree, which is on city property, has broken during storms before, and once a branch crashed into her car's windshield. Tuesday the tree barely missed the apartment building's front door, but it is blocking that entrance effectively trapping residents inside until city crews can come clear it.

The same high winds pulled down more trees into an alleyway and partially through a garage near 48th and Martin Luther King Drive, leaving a tangled mess of trees and power lines. More downed trees were reported in the West Side neighborhood of Austin.

Damage was reported to the north of the city as well.

A downed tree limb on the CTA Yellow Line tracks in Evanston caused a train derailment Tuesday afternoon. Ten passengers were on board at the time, and one was taken to a hospital as a precaution because they had recently had surgery, Evanston fire officials said. No injuries were reported.Yellow line trains resumed service with delays around 9 p.m.

The center of the remnants of Cristobal are expected to track over western Illinois near the Mississippi River, with the eastern parts of the storm system impacting the Chicago area.