Though threats of a derecho never panned out in Chicago, storms still left tens of thousands of area homes without power Wednesday evening and caused serious damage in several western suburbs.
As of 6 a.m. Thursday, 6,513 ComEd customers were without power -- but at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night, that number had stood at 31,033, the Chicago Tribune reports. Hardest hit were customers in Chicago's southern suburbs.
The storming brought heavy rain and some large hail to the area -- as well as at least one tornado that touched down near Somonauk, the National Weather Service confirmed, according to NBC Chicago.
Lightning was also responsible for a house fire in suburban Lemont (report embedded below) and a suspected twister was blamed for the collapse of a barn and the death of one horse trapped inside in Manteno, WGN reports.
Despite the suburban damage, the city was left largely unscathed by the line of storms. Cool air off Lake Michigan reportedly weakened the storm system and helped the city avoid derecho winds that could have approached 75 mph, according to CBS Chicago. Still, the stormy night did make for some dramatic photos.
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Chicago Storm 2013
"The really intense line of thunderstorms that were expected to develop didn't really take shape," National Weather Service meteorologist Richard Castro told DNAinfo Chicago.
Ahead of the storm's arrival, the White Sox postponed their evening match against the Toronto Blue Jays. All Wednesday activities at Navy Pier were canceled as were outdoor activities at Millennium Park. Evanston also closed all municipal facilities at 3 p.m. and canceled all activities at recreation centers and libraries. Hundreds of flights at both O'Hare and Midway airports were canceled and Metra rail service was also temporarily disrupted.
In the aftermath of Wednesday's storming, the temperature cooled Thursday in the Chicago area, though a modest warmup awaits Friday, according to the Chicago Weather Center. And the city isn't done with stormy weather yet: a new round of thunderstorms appears to be in the mix for Saturday.