Thousands of ComEd and NIPSCO customers are without power across the Chicago area and northwest Indiana Thursday as wind gusts in excess of 50 miles per hour batter the region.
A high wind warning remains in effect until 7 p.m. for the entire NBC 5 viewing area in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana.
Wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour are possible, with power outages, tree limb damage and property damage all possible because of the blustery conditions.
As of 2:45 p.m., 9,216 ComEd customers in Illinois are without power, with most of those outages occurring in Cook County.
Here are the latest figures from the utility:
Cook County – 4,874 customers
Lake County – 1,903 customers
Local
McHenry County – 1,538 customers
Winnebago County – 335 customers
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As of 2:45 p.m., 5,948 customers are without power in northwest Indiana, according to officials. Lake and Porter counties are the areas hardest-hit by the outages, according to the company.
The utility positioned additional crews and equipment ahead of a forecasted severe weather event on Wednesday, and is continuing to work to restore power even amid the ferocious winds.
Those gusts are expected to die down by Friday, with much-cooler temperatures settling in behind the cold front that ripped through the area mid-week.
