Powerful storm knocks down trees, pelts Chicago area with hail and rain

CHICAGO (Fox 32 News) - On Thursday afternoon, storms hit the Oswego area hard. A 100-year-old maple tree was ripped out of its roots in the 200 block of Main Street. That very moment was caught on camera.

Home surveillance video showed just how dark and windy it was as the storm blew in around lunchtime.

“It got darker than I have ever seen it get dark before, and the wind was as strong as I’ve seen before," said Roy Taylor.

Taylor's camera captured the moment that maple majestically toppled to the ground. It fell away from his house, so tall that it extended onto the street. A number of people stopped to see it Thursday night, like Randy Harrison. He lives next door and his wife sent him a picture of the tree while he was at work earlier in the day.

“Oh I’ll check it out when I get home and I’m driving up the street and was like, oh tree came down and it was like, oh my goodness, the whole tree came down," said Harrison.

Storm damage was not limited to Oswego. Other southwest suburbs got hit hard. Tornado sirens rang in many places. Drivers used caution on flooded streets in the Plainfield and Dwight areas. South of Dwight, a truck overturned.

FOX 32 received numerous storm photos. One from Sandwich appears to show a funnel cloud and one from Bristol shows another downed tree.

"We’ve been busy with today with a variety of different customers with limbs down, trees down, trees across driveways, things like that, there was quite a bit of storm damage," said arborist Dan Nicholson.

Back in Oswego where that 100-year giant tee fell just feet from homes, the residents on the block know just how lucky they are.

"So I don’t know, lottery tickets, I think my luck is, I think I just got it," said Harrison.