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Powerful Storms Leave One Dead, Thousands Without Power

By Emily Morris | September 19, 2013 7:52am | Updated on September 19, 2013 1:24pm
 Heavy rains disrupted rush hour traffic Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. (file photo)
Heavy rains disrupted rush hour traffic Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. (file photo)
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Getty Images/Scott Olson

CHICAGO — A thunderstorm pounded the city with hail, high winds and flash flooding Wednesday night, and the stormy weather is likely to continue, according to the National Weather Service.

The flash flooding left a maintenance worker dead in its wake after he was trapped inside a sewer in the 3000 block of North Rockwell Street, authorities said.

Gustavo Bricino Jr., 24, of Glendale Heights, fell into the sewer as waters rose and was trapped there for two and a half hours, the fire department said.

The morning after the storm, 3,300 ComEd customers were without power, with most in the Chicago area, ComEd spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said.

ComEd has had crews out overnight restoring power to the 15,000 who had their electricity knocked out as the storms moved through, Gaffney said.

 A branch in Norwood Park was felled by storms that moved through the area Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
A branch in Norwood Park was felled by storms that moved through the area Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
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DNAinfo/Justin Breen

Along roadways, drivers tried to get through major flooding. The Circle Interchange closed for a few hours due to flooding and reopened about 10 p.m., a trooper with Illinois State Police said, though no major accidents were reported.

Some flights have been delayed an hour or more at O'Hare Airport, while there were only a handful of delays reported at Midway Airport Thursday morning, according to the Department of Aviation.

An mix of warm and humid air has created the potential for more storms to develop, according to the weather service.

Rain continued to clobber the city Thursday morning. The storms are expected to level off in the morning, with a few isolated thunderstorms possible in the afternoon.

Some storms could develop overnight and into Friday morning, the weather service said.