CHICAGO, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- About 4,300 people remained out of power Monday morning in Cook County, with over 2,000 in Chicago, after widespread storms, rainfall and powerful winds began to batter the Chicago area Sunday, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.

At the peak of the power outages, more than 9,000 homes were reported without power in Chicago alone, with about 18,500 in all of Cook County.

The storm also led to 253 flights departing or arriving at O'Hare International Airport canceled and 259 more delayed as of Monday morning, whereas only three flights had been canceled and 36 delayed at Midway Airport.

The rainfall measured at O'Hare was at 2.26 inches, the local newspaper quoted Chicago National Weather Service meteorologist Casey Sullivan as saying. Rainfalls in western or southern suburbs of Chicago were much higher in measurement.

Chicago normally has about 32.5 inches of rain by Oct. 25. This year, Chicago has seen about 25.7 inches of rain by the same date, said Sullivan.

Intense winds that started to savage the Chicago area Sunday night continued into Monday morning, creating 50 miles per hour (mph) winds in Chicago. The wind was so severe that the weather service issued a gale warning for the southern open waters of Lake Michigan and along the shoreline, saying the wind is strong enough to damage or even capsize vessels.

As the storms moved out of the Chicago area on their way to the Northeast, rain will ease Monday evening in the Chicago area. Enditem

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