Tornado Watch, Severe Storm Warnings Issued For Chicago Area

ILLINOIS — A tornado watch has been issued for the Chicago area as severe weather is possible Tuesday afternoon and evening. The National Weather Service issued the watch until 8 p.m. for Boone, Cook, Fulton, Jo Daviess, Knox, Lee, McHenry, Putnam, Stephenson, Winnebago, Bureau, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Lake, Livingston, Ogle, Rock Island, Whiteside, Carroll, DuPage, Henry, Kendall, La Salle, Marshall, Peoria, Stark and Will counties.

A tornado warning issued for LaSalle County expired at 4:45 p.m.

In addition to the tornado watch, severe thunderstorms warnings were issued for parts of the Chicago area. A warning was issued until 4:45 p.m. Tuesday for far northern Kane and McHenry counties including Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, McHenry, and Barrington Hills. Another warning was in effect until 5:30 p.m. for Kendall, DeKalb and Kane counties, including Aurora, Elgin, DeKalb, Joliet, Plainfield and Minooka.

A severe storm warning was also in place for Lake County, eastern McHenry County, DuPage and northern Cook County until 6 p.m., affecting cities including Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Evanston, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Downers Grove, Oak Park. Wind gusts of 70 mph and hail have been reported with these storms.

A fast-moving line of thunderstorms was expected to move into the Chicago area late Tuesday afternoon into the evening. According to the National Weather Service, the main area of concern for a higher tornado threat is the line west of Streator to Aurora to Woodstock.

The storms could produce isolated hail up to quarter-sized, scattered wind gusts up to 75 mph and a few tornadoes, the weather service said. Most of the Chicago area will see the storms between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

After a full week of temperatures in the 70s, Tuesday's high is expected to be around 75 degrees in the Chicago area, while the low is around 31 — a nearly 45-degree temperature shift.

The weather service said the severe weather threat will last up to one to two hours in any location, as the storms are fast-moving. After the storms leave the area Tuesday evening, more-seasonable, cooler temperatures are forecast for the rest of the week.