Storms knock out power to thousands across NW Indiana, Chicago area
CHICAGO - Tens of thousands of residents across northwest Indiana and the Chicago area were without power Tuesday morning after storms brought heavy rain and strong winds a day earlier.
What we know:
Northern Indiana Public Service Company, or NIPSCO, reported at 10:30 p.m. Monday that about 49,000 customers were without power. The hardest-hit communities included Cedar Lake, Chesterton, Crown Point, Gary, Hobart, La Porte, Michigan City, Merrillville, Portage and St. John.
As of Tuesday morning, more than 28,000 customers were still affected. The utility said crews were dealing with broken poles, damaged equipment and downed trees and power lines while working to restore service.
In the Chicago area, ComEd reported more than 18,000 outages as storms moved through Monday afternoon. By 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, that number had dropped to about 1,500 customers still without power.
At O’Hare International Airport, 0.92 inches of rain fell Monday. That brought the monthly total to 7.01 inches, making this April the eighth-wettest on record, according to FOX Chicago's Mike Caplan.
What we don't know:
It remains unclear how long it will take to restore power to all affected customers.
What they're saying:
NIPSCO said crews are working "as safely and quickly as possible" to assess damage and restore power. They also urged residents to stay at least 30 feet away from downed power lines and to treat all wires as if they are live.
Additionally, a school district in Cedar Lake moved to e-learning on Tuesday because of the outages.
"Due to widespread outages throughout the district, ALL schools will be closed for tomorrow, Tuesday, April 28th. This will result in an eLearning day. Students will have a week to complete assignments, as we understand there are many still without power. Thank you," the district said in a statement on their website.
What you can do:
Customers are encouraged to report outages through NIPSCO’s text system — text "out" to 444111 — website or mobile app.
ComEd customers can find more information HERE.
What's next in the forecast?
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The Source: The information in this story came from the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), ComEd, FOX Chicago's Mike Caplan, and Cedar Lake school district.