Severe T-Storms, Hail En Route to Evanston

The city of Evanston released the following information Tuesday afternoon:

The National Weather Service indicates that the City of Evanston will be impacted by a severe weather system that is moving into Illinois with the threat of severe thunderstorms, straight line winds around 75 mph, hail and potential flash flooding.

Due to the severe weather threat, the City of Evanston is closing all of its facilities at 3 p.m. today and all activities at its recreation centers and libraries are cancelled this evening. The Planning Commission and the Arts Council meetings set for this evening are also canceled.

Residents are encouraged to listen to NOAA Weather Radio or to commercial radio or television newscasts for the latest information. In any emergency, always listen to the instructions given by local emergency management officials.

Residents who may lose power are encouraged to register their power outage with ComEd’s toll-free number so they can get updates directly from ComEd at 1-800-EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661) or atwww.comed.com. Customers can text OUT to 26633 (COMED) to report their outage and receive restoration information.

Residents are encouraged to call 3-1-1 or go online at www.cityofevanston.org/311 to report downed trees, road hazards or other storm-related information.

If the loss of power in your home or business requires emergency medical or police assistance, please call 9-1-1.

Keep your yard free of poles, shovels, bikes and other loose articles. These can quickly become hazardous flying objects during a severe storm.

If flash flooding should occur, please exercise extreme caution around standing water, which can hide many hazards, including open sewers and downed power lines.  Never drive into standing water that covers the street.

Storm updates and tips on how to deal with storm damage will be available on an ongoing basis atwww.cityofevanston.org/storm.