The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for DuPage County through 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, warning of wind gusts up to 70 mph, hail and possible tornadoes as a second major storm system bears down on the Downers Grove area.

The watch covers Downers Grove, Woodridge and Westmont along with Cook, Kane, DeKalb, Kankakee, Kendall and Will counties. Storms began moving into the region around 10 a.m., with the severe window running through early afternoon.

The weather service said the greatest threat Wednesday sits "from the I-88 corridor south and eastward," a zone that runs directly through the Downers Grove area. Damaging straight-line winds are the primary concern, though forecasters said a brief tornado cannot be ruled out.

Tuesday's derecho left widespread damage

The new watch comes less than 24 hours after a derecho tore across the Chicago suburbs Tuesday, Aug. 11, producing three confirmed EF-1 tornadoes in southern Cook and Will counties, according to NWS survey results posted that evening. Wind gusts hit 97 mph at Aurora Municipal Airport and 70 mph in DuPage County near Lemont, NWS meteorologist Mike Bardou told the Chicago Tribune.

As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, more than 140,000 ComEd customers remained without power across the region. The utility's peak outage count reached 370,000 customers Tuesday; ComEd said nearly 3,000 employees and contractors were deployed and estimated 80% of outages would be restored by noon Thursday, Aug. 13, with 99% back by 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15.

In Downers Grove, more than 2,000 customers lost power Tuesday afternoon. Village crews spent the day clearing downed wires, tree limbs and debris, and the Village urged residents to stay away from downed power lines and call 911 if they spot one.

What residents should do

"I know at this point a lot of people are skittish as far as the warnings go, with all the warnings that we've had pretty much all summer long," NBC 5 meteorologist Pete Sack said Wednesday. "But it's important to heed the advice of these."

Sack urged residents to have multiple ways to receive weather warnings, noting that thousands still without power may miss standard alerts. As we reported Tuesday, the earlier storm prompted a tornado warning for DuPage County.

Wednesday's system marks the fourth consecutive day of severe weather threats for the area, though NBC 5 meteorologist Kevin Jeanes said it "doesn't look as intense as yesterday" because upper-level winds are weaker. Forecasters expect Wednesday to be the last severe threat this week, though the active pattern may continue into the weekend with heavy rain possible.

Residents can report parkway tree damage to Downers Grove Public Works at 630-434-5460 and power outages to ComEd at 1-800-334-7661.