Update: Tornado Warnings Canceled, Heavy Winds and Rains Linger

A tornado scare briefly covered the Tri-Cities on Sunday.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for southern Kane County, southeastern DeKalb County, western Kendall County and northeastern LaSalle County. The warning expired at 2:15 p.m. only to be replaced by a 3 p.m. warning for northern DuPage and northwestern Cook counties.

The second warning was canceled as the storm weakened and was lowered beneath severe status, according to the National Weather Service.

A powerful storm capable of producing a tornado quickly emerged from the west Sunday afternoon. The storm was located near Newark, or 6 miles south of Sandwich, and moved northeast at 45 mph.

Prolonged weather sirens went off across the Tri-Cities, including Batavia. The sky darkened, rain began to pour and the winds picked up.

But that's about it.

As the expiration time for the warning drew close, the conversations on social media became lighter and relaxed.

"Great alert system well ahead of danger," Tim Tumminaro wrote on the Batavia Patch Facebook page. "Saves lives really well planned ... Thanks everyone."

No major damage was reported in the area. Even though the storm passed, a wind advisory remained in place until 7 p.m. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph could cause minor property damage, the weather service said.

This post was originally sent out Sunday afternoon Oct. 14 as a Breaking News Alert. To get these alerts sent straight to your e-mail, click the words "Patch Newsletter" at the top of this page. If you are logged in, hover the cursor over your login name and click on the word "Newsletters."