1st named storm forming as wild weather rips Midwest

CHICAGO (WABC) -- Severe weather is unfolding on two fronts Tuesday, as the season's first tropical system on the east coast is threatening to disrupt Fourth of July plans for millions of people. And overnight, a weather system rolled through the midwest, creating dangerous conditions.

It was a light show early in the day, as lightning repeatedly struck Chicago's Willis Tower. Torrential rains battered the city, while strong winds took down trees and left more than 100,000 people were left without power.

Chicago O'Hare Airport was shut down for hours, with airlines cancelling more than 250 flights Monday night.

Meanwhile, tornadoes raked across western Missiouri. In In iowa, one person killed in a collapsed building in the town of Fairfax.

And in Cedar Rapids, 80 mile per hour winds ripped a tarp over Veterans Memorial Stadium. The accident left team staff injured at Monday night's minor league baseball game.

Another scary incident involved two teens getting sucked into storm drains. One is still missing, while the other narrowly escaped. The two boys were playing frisbee in the rain, and the search continued overnight.

All this comes as we're about to meet the Atlantic's first named storm of the year. Off the east coast of Florida, a tropical depression has formed that is expected to become tropical storm Arthur.

It will pick up strength, pushing north towards the mid-Atlantic states, bringing rip currents and a whole lot of rain.