More than 90K without power in Chicago area after storms

CHICAGO (AP) - More than 90,000 Chicago-area homes and businesses remained without power Wednesday morning following severe overnight thunderstorms that came one day after at least seven tornadoes touched down in parts of northern Illinois.

As of 7 a.m. CDT, about 96,000 Commonwealth Edison customers remained without power, with most of those in Cook, Lake, McHenry and Kane counties after a Tuesday storm raked the area with wind gusts of up to 70 mph (113 kilometers per hour), according to the utility.

Residents in Evanston and Plainfield reported extensive tree damage, while about 6,000 customers lost power in Evanston, where there reports of malfunctioning street lights, traffic signals and street flooding, National Weather Service meteorologist Ricky Castro told the Chicago Sun-Times.

The weather service said a survey crew had confirmed Tuesday that at least seven tornadoes touched down Monday in northern Illinois, with three of those storms given preliminary ratings as EF-1 tornadoes, which produce winds between 86-110 mph (138-177 kph).

Three of the other tornadoes were weaker and the strength of the seventh storm had not yet been determined, according to the weather service, which said Monday's storms damaged trees and some structures in portions of Ogle, DeKalb, and Kane Counties.

A heat advisory remains in effect across north-central Illinois, northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana until Wednesday night, when the weather service said more severe weather is possible in that region.