Severe Storms Possible: Heavy Rain, Hail, Damaging Wind Gusts

ILLINOIS — Strong, possibly severe, thunderstorms are expected Wednesday into Thursday, and risks include winds up to 60 mph, hail and flooding, according to the National Weather Service. Thunderstorms may push into northeast Iowa, southern Wisconsin and far northern Illinois Wednesday afternoon, the weather service said.

If the main area of storms stays north of the Wisconsin state line, then isolated to widely scattered storms may develop across portions of far northern Illinois, according to the weather service.

The first wave of storms is possible from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, and would mainly be near the state line, the weather service said. The strongest storms could produce wind gusts capable of causing tree damage.

After a lull, scattered storms could develop after midnight, mainly north of Interstate 88, the weather service said. The main threat overnight would be torrential downpours and localized flash flooding.

More rounds of storms are possible Thursday and Thursday night.