Rounds of “springlike storms” brought rain, high winds, 70-degree temperatures, hail, flash flooding and an isolated tornado to the Chicago area Thursday.
A tornado watch is in effect until 8 p.m. for the western suburbs including in McHenry, Kane, Kendall and Grundy counties, according to Gino Izzy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“A watch means conditions favorable for storms to produce tornadoes,” Izzy said. “A warning means: ‘It’s coming.’”
Light steady rain will continue on and off until at least 9 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The temperature at Midway Airport is 70 degrees as of 3 p.m., while at 8 a.m. it was only was about 40 degrees at O’Hare.
“We’ll see scattered showers and thunderstorms but everyone may or may not see them,” Izzy said. Lightning too, he added.
Flooding was causing problems near O’Hare and it should stay about 70 through the evening but Friday, another chill down in the city.
“During the afternoon tomorrow, it’ll be 42 or 42 downtown and in the 70s in the far south suburbs,” Izzy said.
The most intense storms could produce winds up to 70 mph, quarter-sized hail and the possibility of a tornado, the weather service said. Northwest Illinois is most at risk for a tornado, though one touching down is possible anywhere in the Chicago area, officials said.
A wind advisory was in effect for the Chicago area until 7 p.m., according to the weather service.
“It’s a lot of little things going on here today, Zachary Yack, a meteorologist at the weather service, said. “We just advise people to keep an eye on the forecast here today, and of course if one is issued for your area, seek proper precaution.”
The storm system behind the potentially severe weather was a “typical springtime storm system” moving through Kansas City into Iowa, Yack said. The Chicago area was on the “warm” side of the system, which is driving the showers and storms.
The threat for severe storms will linger into Friday, though it’s uncertain whether those storms will reach the Chicago area due to the uncertainties of the front’s placement and timing, according to the weather service.