Severe Thunderstorm Watch Issued For Chicago Area

Severe weather will continue into Thursday evening, and a severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for most of northern Illinois until 3 a.m. Friday. The watch includes Bureau, Ford, Iroquois, La Salle, Marshall, Putnam, Whiteside, Carroll, Grundy, Kankakee, Lee, Mercer, Rock Island, Will, De Kalb, Henry, Kendall, Livingston, Ogle and Stark counties.

The National Weather Service said there is an elevated thunderstorm risk with an associated elevated hail risk and elevated damaging wind risk on Thursday evening.

A conditional severe thunderstorm threat remains for mid to late evening on Thursday and into the early overnight hours. The NWS said the atmosphere is stable in wake of earlier storms, but should quickly recover again tonight. Initial storms would be capable of strong winds and large hail.

The threat may shift to very heavy rainfall and localized flooding potential overnight, according to the NWS.

Severe thunderstorms were reported over much of the Chicago area on Thursday afternoon, and several power outages were reported in several south suburban towns.

Thunderstorms will also continue Friday morning, with the strongest, potentially severe storms, along the I-80 corridor. The NWS said periods of thunderstorms are also expected through the weekend and into next week, and there may be additional chances for severe storms.