CHICAGO — A fast-moving storm turned skies from day to night across a wide swath of the Chicago area Thursday, damaging homes and businesses and bringing planes and trains to a halt. And as workers and residents worked to clean up from the storm, the area was bracing for another.

A roof collapsed at the dock area of an industrial building in the suburbs, injuring 40 people, authorities said. West Chicago Police Department spokesman Mike Uplegger said seven people were sent to hospitals and the rest refused treatment at the scene. None of the injuries was considered life threatening.
The National Weather Service would not be able to confirm tornado touchdowns until Friday, meteorologist Gino Izzi said. He said 74 mph wind gusts were recorded in Midlothian and near Wrigley Field.

But the weather service was keeping a wary eye on storms and thunderstorms developing to the west in Iowa, fearing they would cause flash flooding as they moved into Illinois. Northern Illinois remained under a flash flood watch, and some areas could see 3-5 inches of rain — of particular concern because the ground is so saturated with water from recent rains, Izzi said.

"If that happens, you could be talking very serious flooding," Izzi said.



A large piece of metal scaffolding at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Prentice Women's Hospital collapsed during the storm, and two people suffered minor injuries but refused treatment, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said. Also, the rear wall of a four-story building under construction on Chicago's North Side collapsed, but no injuries were reported, he said.