Strong winds blasted Northwestern students on their way to class and split apart multiple trees in Evanston as a powerful storm swept through the Midwest on Tuesday.
Evanston officials released a weather alert Tuesday informing residents about high winds ranging from 35 to 60 mph. The alert also provided information about how to report fallen trees and power outages.
While Evanston’s police and fire departments did not respond to any wind-related activity, the city’s forestry department removed two trees and 15 tree limbs as of Tuesday afternoon, said Mark Younger, the department’s municipal arborist.
Both of the downed trees were located on parkways and split in half as a result of the high winds, Younger said. The 1100 block of Brummel Street and the 600 block of Judson Avenue were temporarily closed while the city removed the trees Tuesday morning, he said.
Although Tuesday’s storm was reported to be the strongest storm to hit the Midwest in 70 years, a microburst in 2000 posed more of a disruption to Evanston, he said.
“We’ve been very fortunate,” Younger said. “It’s not as bad as it could have been.”
Evanston managed to dodge the power outages and damage affecting other parts of the area Tuesday, said Eric Palmer, the city’s community information coordinator.
“We haven’t heard of anything yet,” Palmer said. “Currently, there are no reports of power outages.”
Strong winds likely affected construction in Evanston, but officials did not know to what extent, he said. A crew working on the roof of the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center did not come Tuesday because of the hazards posed by the strong winds, Palmer said.
High winds also caused the U.S. Coast Guard to warn people to stay off of Lake Michigan, he said.
Wary of the weather conditions, NU’s sailing team canceled their practices for much of the week.
Sailing coach Bobby Collins tied down the boats near the NU Sailing Center as powerful winds threatened to damage them Tuesday.
The winds coming off the lake clocked in at nearly 80 mph at midday Tuesday, while waves were expected to be as much as nine feet high, he said.
“There would be significant danger to anybody who goes on the water,” Collins said.
Josh Kopel contributed to this report.
