CHICAGO – A Tornado Watch is officially in effect for counties across Illinois and Indiana.
Severe storms are slated to hit the region this afternoon with damaging wind gusts, tornadoes, and hail all possible hazards.
(LIVE Radar above)
The Tornado Watch is in effect until 9 p.m. for dozens of Illinois counties such as Grundy, Kendall, Kankakee, La Salle and Will. Indiana counties that are under the watch include Newton, Benton, Warren and Tippecanoe, among others.
Visit the National Weather Service (NWS) for a full list of impacted counties.
Live Updates from NWS (Posts at the top are most recent)
— via IDOT: Due to inclement weather, overnight work and closures tonight on the Kennedy Expressway have been rescheduled to, weather permitting, Thursday, March 20.
— via Metra: UPW inbound and outbound trains are currently stopped due to high wind warnings. The duration of this delay is unknown. Metra will provide updates as information becomes available. Visit Metratracker.com for the location of your train.
— Ground stop in effect at O’Hare and Midway airports until 5:30 p.m.
FOX 32’s Kaitlin Cody: A dust advisory was issued around 4:55 p.m. for Jasper, Newton and Kankakee counties until 6:45. There have been multiple reports of dust in Chicagoland today. Blowing dust can lead to a drop in visibility, especially for those who are traveling on East/West-oriented roads.
FOX 32’s Kaitlin Cody: Storms are moving into our western counties now at 4:34 p.m.
There are severe thunderstorm warnings in effect for portions of LaSalle, Kendall, Grundy and western Will county.
The warnings in place now are for 60 mph straight line winds and penny size hail. These storms also have torrential rain and frequent lightning.
The threat for severe storms continues into this evening until about 9 p.m.
There is a tornado watch until 9pm for the SW suburbs including Will, LaSalle Grundy, Kendall, Kankakee and Newton counties.
Tornado Watch in the Chicago area
The NWS said strong tornadoes are possible, along with ping-pong-sized hail and gusts of up to 70 miles per hour.
The risk for tornadoes has increased, especially south of Interstate 88. The Storm Prediction Center has a 10% tornado risk for that area and a 5% risk for the rest of the Chicago area.
The SPC has placed nearly 2 million people in the area just south of Chicago, from central Illinois to far western Indiana, in a level 3 out of 5 risk on its severe thunderstorm risk scale.
The level 3 risk zone includes downstate cities like Peoria, Decatur and Champaign, which face the treat of strong tornadoes (an EF-2 or higher), according to Fox Weather.
Thunderstorm Watch vs. Warning
It’s important to know the different between a severe thunderstorm watch and a warning.
A thunderstorm watch is issued when a severe thunderstorm is possible. Viewers located where a watch is issued should stay tuned to forecast updates, monitor sky conditions and know where to take shelter.
A thunderstorm warning is issued when a severe thunderstorm is happening or about to happen. Anyone in the area should take shelter immediately.
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