Holy Chicago Thunderstorm Batman!

I think I just witnessed/survived the most exciting thunderstorm of my life.

Hurricane winds, severe thunderstorms and golf-ball sized hail. And I got to watch it all roll in and through Chicago from the 43rd floor of the building I work in on Michigan Avenue (I started my summer internship at the McCormick Foundation this past Tuesday).

Call me crazy, but I love thunderstorms (I probably could have been a storm chaser in another life). Around 2 pm today the building manager sent an email warning us of the impending severe storm and the potential of busted windows due to the hail and extremely high winds (predicted to hit up to 80 mph). However, when everyone else was moving away from the windows, I was moving toward them to get a better view (and of course to snap a few pictures to share with you!).

Winds were clocked at 77 mph and Chicago Breaking News reported that two windows were blown out at the Willis (Sears) Tower. Sounds crazy, but I could feel the building swaying a few times (just a slight imbalance) and when I put my hand to the window, I could feel it wildly vibrating. The rain blew in sheets and appeared to cascade down the sides of buildings like a waterfall. There was no hope for a few pigeons I saw flapping around, losing the battle to the wind.

The severe part of the storm lasted only about 20 minutes, and I escaped from work a little early in order to make it home before the next wave of storms hit.

I made it safely home with my umbrella in one piece. However, it was quite a challenge to juggle the umbrella and keep my dress from flying up... I wish I had known there would be hurricane-like winds this morning when I was picking out my outfit for the day!

Enjoy the photos I took with my camera phone. These pics even made it into the RedEye's storm photo gallery (#7 and 31), which I recommend peeking at if you'd like additional visuals on how bad this storm was.