Tornado touched down in Wheaton area: NWS

A tornado touched down in the Wheaton area at about 9:04 p.m., the National Weather Service has confirmed.

The tornado warning for DuPage County has expired, but the National Weather Service is keeping a close eye on serious thunderstorm activity in both DuPage and Cook counties.

The National Weather Service could not confirm the specific location in Wheaton where the tornado touched down.

The National Weather Service forecasts showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1 a.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1 a.m. Some storms could be severe with large hail and damaging winds. The chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch are possible.

Severe storms on Wednesday evening spawned at least 11 tornadoes in northern Illinois, the weather service said. The storm system that swept across the region Wednesday, downed trees and power lines and damaged homes and businesses.

Tornadoes, in some cases with speeds in excess of 100 mph, that touched down during Wednesday night’s severe weather included two near Elgin, two in Lake County, one in Kendall County and one in McHenry County, the weather service said. DuPage County and Cook County each were hit by confirmed tornadoes, the weather service confirmed.