CHICAGO -- Parts of Illinois are cleaning up and drying out after storms raked much of the region, flooding some roads and downing trees and power lines.

The wicked storms included lightning strikes to two homes in Orland Park, where the chimney was blown off the roof of one house, leaving debris strewn all over the yard.

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"It knocked out a couple of TVs and a couple of circuits," the homeowner said, adding that it "scared the hell out of me."

A second home had much less damage when lightning hit an antenna.

NBC5's Kim Vatis reported from Midlothian early Thursday, saying that several cars were stuck in high water in the area. Standing water remained near 147th Street and Kilpatrick Avenue at 6:30 a.m. She was told by residents that flooding is common, with Natalie Creek not far from the intersection.

Vatis shared an image of a small fish from the creek, by way of illustrating just how high the water had risen.

Sibley Boulevard was covered with water in Posen in the morning hours, Vatis said, but with the end of morning rain, that street was expected to be clear for the morning rush hour.

Brian Pecchinino, who told Vatis he had just moved to the area, found himself stuck on the flooded Sibley.

"I didn't expect that road to be as flooded as it was," he said. "What can you do?"

Elsewhere, much of the water had receded, but morning commuters were warned to avoid any flooded roadways and viaducts.

The National Weather Service said central Illinois got more than three inches of rainfall on Tuesday, notably around Springfield and Decatur.

In Champaign and Urbana, heavy rain led to minor flooding in the basements of some University of Illinois buildings and the studioof WCIA-TV in Champaign.

Winds knocked down power poles along U.S. 67 near Industry, Illinois, about 55 southwest of Peoria. Illinois State Police saidthe highway was closed.

Sections of the Vermilion River are closed to boating because of floating debris and swift currents fed by days of heavy rains.

Severe weather was seen, in fact, across much of the country Wednesday.

More severe weather is expected on Thursday.

The northwestern portion of Illinois has been put under a tornado watch and parts of the city and suburbs may see strong winds and thunderstorms.

A tornado watch was put in effect until 11 a.m. for Northwestern Illinois. The chance for severe weather in that region has been classified as "slight," according to National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Krein, who said that risk is expected to increase to "moderate" Friday.

A line of strong winds with gusts reaching between 60 and 70 miles per hour is moving across the north and northwest suburbs and could bring with it severe weather, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Krein.

The Chicago metro area will see a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms Thursday morning.

The storms probably will pass through the area by 1 p.m. Thursday, when temperatures will climb near 91 degrees, the National Weather Service said.